You Can Trust Me
by Ariel96
Summary: As Skye's fifth foster family dropped her back off at the orphanage, Skye wondered if she would ever find a forever home. Then she met Melinda May and Phil Coulson and everything seemed to change. A Skye kid!fic.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I'm trying something new here and writing a multi-chapter fic. It's a Skye!kid fic, because I love those and can never find enough to read. I'm a new writer, so please go easy. If you have any suggestions, either for my writing or for the plot, please let me know. I love hearing from you guys xx**

 **In this fic, Skye is 6**

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Skye flew out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. She didn't care that they were taking her back to St. Agnes', she didn't care that this "family" only lasted a couple of weeks, and she didn't care that they were taking her back because her foster brother told them she wouldn't stop hitting him (which was a lie). She needed to get out of the car. That was how Foster Family #4 died, the Harvey's. It was a week before her 6th birthday, and they had just signed the adoption papers a couple days before. It was the happiest she ever remembered being. Until a drunk driver swerved into them late one night. It was all her fault. They wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for her. She was at her first sleepover ever, and she was nervous because sometimes she still wet the bed and she has nightmares a lot, so she refused to fall asleep. She asked Avery's mom if she could call Mrs. Harvey because she wanted to go back home.

She was sitting on the floor by the staircase, trying not to cry, when Mr. and Mrs. Harvey walked in the door. She felt even guiltier because they both came and she couldn't stop a tear from escaping. Mrs. Harvey spotted her and rushed towards her while Mr. Harvey stopped to talk to Avery's mom.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you come back. Please don't be mad at me!" She was full-on crying now and Mrs. Harvey just pulled her into a hug. She stiffened for a minute, out of reflex, and then relaxed into the hug. She could feel her gently stroking her hair and it felt nice.

"Skye, never feel bad for calling us when you need us. We're your parents now. We want to be here for you and we aren't mad. How about we head home?" She whispered into Skye's ear.

Skye could feel her tears starting to stop. She was still getting used to hearing that she had parents. That if she called, they would come when she needed them. It was a foreign feeling, but she thought she was starting to like it. She looked up at Mrs. Harvey and smiled tentatively up at her. "O-okay," she managed to hiccup out. Mrs. Harvey lifted her into her arms and Skye wrapped legs around her waist and her arms around her neck. She wasn't used to being hugged, or have someone there to help her stop crying, and it was all new to her, but she hoped that she would get used to it. Mrs. Harvey didn't even yell at her, she just thanked Avery's mom, made sure Mr. Harvey grabbed Skye's overnight bag, and carried her to the car. Skye was feeling much better.

Mrs. Harvey buckled her into her car seat and kissed her cheek before getting into the front seat. The kissing and displays of affection were also things Skye was trying to get used to. She had a lot of "forever homes," but no one had wanted to adopt her. Out of all the families she'd been with, she was happy the Harvey's wanted to keep her. They didn't yell at her or hit her, Mr. Harvey never tried to scare her or touch her, and they seemed to actually want to be her parents. She was finally starting to feel happy.

They started heading back home and Skye stared out the window and towards the night sky. She had always loved looking at the moon and stars. They never failed to be right where they were supposed to be. "How about when we get back home, we read you your favorite story, huh? Don't tell anyone, but Goodnight Moon is also becoming one of my favorites," Mr. Harvey grinned at her and Skye giggled and caught his eyes in the mirror. He was smiling back at her when the car swerved right into them.

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey died on impact and Skye was left alone, in a mangled car, for an hour before someone saw and called the police. Miraculously, she walked away with only minor scrapes and bruises, but she couldn't stop seeing how Mrs. Harvey's head was twisted a weird way, or how Mr. Harvey's arm bone stuck out through his skin. She stopped talking for a little while after that.

It was because she wouldn't talk that Foster Family #5 didn't work out so well. The Ramsey's started off being nice. They smiled at her when they took her home and their real son, Aaron, said he wanted to be friends with her. She didn't trust him. When foster families had real kids, she knew that they would end up hating her. They didn't want to share her parents with a girl like her. They always ended up being mean, taking her toys away or taunting her. She eyed them all and tried to smile. Families liked happy kids, but she wasn't happy. She'd had a mom and a dad for a week and now they were gone and it was all her fault. Words got stuck in her throat and they couldn't escape. Mrs. Ramsey led Skye to her new room and left her to get settled in.

Her silence wasn't an issue for the first few days. Obviously, they thought it was a temporary thing, but when she didn't respond when they asked her questions, she could see the anger starting to appear in their eyes. Especially in Mr. Ramsey's eyes. He started picking on her and pushing her around. If she did something wrong, he would yell very loudly and throw things across the room. She guessed it was easier to be mean to someone when they wouldn't say anything back. She finally decided that it would probably be safer to start talking again when Mr. Ramsey started yelling at her for something Aaron did. Maybe if he knew that she didn't do a bad thing this time, he would stop. When she finally did open her mouth and said that it wasn't her who knocked his computer to the ground, it was Aaron, Mr. Ramsey stopped, and then started yelling louder about how she was blaming their innocent kid for something that she did. A couple weeks later when Aaron accused her of hitting him, Skye could tell the Ramsey's wouldn't believe her if she told them the truth. They were looking for an excuse to get rid of her, and honestly, she was looking for an excuse to get out of there, so she didn't deny it.

That was how she ended up here, almost 7 years old and without a family. She was kneeling on the grassy lawn in front of St. Agnes', trying to force air into her lungs and hold the tears back. She heard the Ramsey's walk by her and towards the front office of the building. They had already called the nuns and told them they were bringing Skye back, so all they needed to do was sign some things and she would be free of them. When she finally felt like she was getting enough air into her body, she started to stand back up again, only to be pushed back onto the ground.

"Mary Sue what the hell are you doing back here?"

"Yeah, another family didn't want you?"

"At least you didn't kill this one. They managed to get rid of you before that happened."

Three older boys were laughing at her and daring her to try and get back up. Jonathan and his stupid friends had always been especially mean to her. She didn't know why. It could've been because she was smaller than most girls her age, or because she didn't have that many friends to have her back, but Skye tried to never back down from a fight, even when she was scared. So, she slowly got up from the ground and tried to look intimidating.

Jonathan laughed at her, "Look guys, she's trying to scare us. What're you gonna do Mary Sue? Beat us up?" His friends started laughing harder and Skye held back her tears. These stupid boys couldn't see her cry, it would make everything worse.

"That's not my name! And I might!" Skye yelled at them and curled her tiny palms into fists. They just laughed harder.

Melinda May and Phil Coulson stepped out of their car and into the sun. After a lot of thought and consideration, they had decided they wanted to foster another child. May was pretty excited. She loved children, and ever since they had found out that they'd probably never be able to conceive a child of their own, they became foster parents. Phil told her that she had a way of getting through to the troubled children they cared for. May didn't know if this was true or not, she just knew that she hated seeing children stuck without families and she wanted to do something about it.

"Okay Phil, remember, we're just here to talk to Sister Margaret about maybe finding another child to foster." May glanced towards her husband and he was giving her a lopsided grin.

"I know honey. I already told you, I don't expect to bring home a child today…but wouldn't it be amazing if we could?" May sighed.

She was about to say something back when she was distracted by little voices. She turned and saw a group of three boys, maybe about 11 years old, standing around a small girl. The boys were laughing at the little girl, and her hands were gripped into fists. Her hair was dark, long and tangled, and her bangs were getting in her eyes. Her shorts had dirt on them and her shirt was about 2 sizes too big. May could see that the little girl was trying not to cry, even as she raised her fists and shouted, "That's not my name! And I might!" at the three bigger boys. The boys laughed harder and looked at each other. May heard Phil ask her what was going on but she didn't know.

Suddenly, one of the boys stopped laughing, leaned in towards the girl, and pushed her to the ground. Hard. May saw the girl's ankle twist as she fell and her little face ended up in the dirt. Both May and Phil started rushing towards the commotion. As they approached, they heard the boys taunting her, "You're so scary Mary Sue," and "No wonder no one wants you Mary," before the boys saw them approaching and ran away.

Phil reached the little girl first and reached out to help her. "Hey, Mary is it? Are you ok-"As his hand gently landed on her arm so grab her attention, the girl screamed and tried to scramble back. She whimpered in pain as she put weight on her ankle, but continued to crawl backwards. She was crying softly now. May saw the little girl look up in fear towards Phil and so she gently pushed him out of the way.

"Hey sweetie, my name's Melinda, but everyone calls me May. We saw what those boys did and we wanted to make sure you weren't hurt. Are you okay?" She kept her voice calm and soothing. The little girl hadn't even glanced at her yet, her brown eyes were locked onto Phil. She looked scared. When she remained silent, May tried again.

"Mary Sue? Is that your name?" May moved slightly, blocking Phil from the girl's sights. The girl stared at her hands and mumbled something. May tilted her head towards the child on the ground, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that."

The little girl finally looked up, and May's heart clenched when she saw that the girl was still crying. "My name's Skye…" she said again. May smiled at her.

Skye was staring up at this lady and couldn't tell if she could trust her or not. Her ankle still hurt and she thinks her shin might be bleeding, but she couldn't take her eyes off of them. She didn't know if they were mean or not. Skye looked into the lady's face. She said her name was May. That was a pretty name, and her eyes were kind. She felt like she could maybe trust her, so Skye told May her name, and May smiled at her. That made her feel a little better.

"Is it alright if we look at your leg? We saw that you twisted it when you fell." The lady was asking her for permission. No one ever did that. She could say no to her right now and the lady wouldn't be able to touch her. She wanted to say no, just to feel the power of saying such a word, but May's voice sounded sincere, and her kind eyes beckoned her to trust her, so she nodded at her.

When the man reached down towards her leg, Skye shuffled back even farther. Her eyes darted toward s May and back towards the man. He didn't look mean. His face was open and he had those wrinkles around his eyes that old people got because they smiled a lot. But, Mr. Ramsey didn't look like he was mean at first, and he definitely was.

"No! Only you!" Skye whimpered. Her ankle was hurting and she was tired. She'd had nightmares all night last night and couldn't sleep.

May glanced at the man and then back at her. "Skye, this is Phil. He's my husband and he's also a doctor, so he's very good at seeing if people are hurt. He won't hurt you, I promise."

Skye wanted to trust her, but she couldn't. She didn't know him and he could always end up hurting her worse. Skye started crying harder. She was being such a baby right now.

Phil said something to May that Skye couldn't hear and then backed up a step. That made Skye feel better. May sat down in the dirt next to her and said, "Skye, I'm going to lift up your leg to look at your ankle. Tell me if anything hurts and where. If it hurts, I'll stop okay?" There she went, asking Skye for permission again. It felt good to know what May was going to do before she did it, but even though she knew May would probably end up touching her tender ankle, she couldn't help the hiss of pain that escaped her mouth.

May gently set her leg back on the ground and said, "Nothing seems to be broken. You twisted your ankle pretty badly, but that's nothing some ice can't fix. You have a scrape on your shin that's bleeding, but after it's clean and you have a bandaid on it, it should be as good as new!" May smiled down at her and Skye felt better. She was going to be okay. Her tears stopped and felt embarrassed that these strangers had seen her cry so much. She was going to be seven in few months and she needed to stop acting like such a baby all the time. She mumbled a thanks and expected them to leave, but they didn't.

She looked back up at May and saw that she was holding out her arms. Did she want a hug or something? Skye continued to stare at her before May got the hint and said, "How about we go inside and clean you up? You can walk, but I thought it might be easier if I carried you until we put some ice on that ankle."

Skye thought it over. Her ankle was sore and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She needed a nap and she just wanted the pain in her leg to go away. She lifted her arms and May scooped her up and put her on her hip. Skye remained stiff in her arms and looked back at Phil, who was walking behind them. She wondered if she hurt his feelings. She didn't mean to.

May placed her on the counter in the bathroom. Skye vaguely wondered how they knew their way around the orphanage before she saw May glancing around the bathroom helplessly. "They have bandaids in the cabinet over there." Skye said softly. She was looking at her feet, so she missed the smile May gave her, but heard Phil start to pull things out of the cabinet. May wet some gauze and started cleaning Skye's leg up. It hurt a little, but Skye didn't say anything. She'd complained a lot already and they were being so nice to her, she didn't want them to stop. May placed a bandaid over her cut and saw Phil hand her an ice pack. Phil let May put it on her ankle, but said, "Okay honey, keep this ice pack on for 15 minutes. If your ankle is still sore, wait about an hour and ice it again. Do you know how long that is?" His voice was nice and soft, but Skye couldn't tell if he was insulting her or if he really wanted to know if she could tell time. She couldn't, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm 6, not a baby." She scoffed. And then she froze. That wasn't a very nice thing to say. What if they got mad? What if they yelled at her? Skye could feel dread start to pool in her tummy, but Phil and May's laughter stopped her before it escalated.

Phil smiled at her and shrugged, "Okay I was just checking, I didn't mean to make you think I thought you were a baby. We could always set a timer just in case you forget?" Skye was grateful, because she really didn't know how to tell time, and she thought Phil might've known that she was lying.

May picked her back up and they brought her into the lounge and placed her on the couch. Phil brought in a timer that she'd seen the nuns use in the kitchen. "Okay Skye, keep the ice on your ankle until this dings." May gingerly placed the ice on her ankle and gave her a smile. Skye knew they were about to leave but she didn't want them too. But, there was nothing she could do to make them stay. They had been nice to her when they didn't have to be and she was grateful for that. So, even though she didn't really know them and they could be crazy people, she leaned up and gave May a really quick hug. It was too scary to hug Phil, so she just glanced his way and said, "Thank you," and she hoped they knew she really meant it.

They both smiled at her and stood up to walk away. Skye's eyes started to feel heavy and she let them fall shut and sleep pulled her under.

May looked at the little girl lying on the couch. Her breathing had already deepened, and May could tell that she had already fallen asleep. Phil came up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Poor thing." May nodded and leaned into his touch.

"Come on, we're late for our meeting," May sighed, and they both walked towards Sister Margaret's office.

The nun was talking to them about children who would fit best in their home and the logistics of taking in a new child. She kept on talking and talking and May had started to tune her out. Phil was listening intently and could fill her in on the important stuff later. She kept thinking about little Skye. The poor little girl had been so frightened of Phil, something bad must have happened with a previous foster father. No child deserved to feel that way. She could feel herself getting angrier the more she thought about it. Skye had been alarmingly light when May had carried her into the house, she could feel that she was underweight, and May knew that most 6 year olds were a little bigger than Skye was at the moment. She remembered how unsure Skye had been when they offered their help and how ill-fitting and dirty her clothes had been. She felt a connection to Skye. She knew that she could help her and wanted to be the one to help her find trust and happiness again. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt eyes watching her.

She looked up and saw Sister Margaret and Phil talking intently. She glanced around the room and found the source. Through the crack in the door, she saw a pair of dark brown eyes staring at her, and they belonged to the same little girl she had just been thinking about. May smiled.

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Please, please let me know what you think. I'm new at this and suggestions are totally welcome! I'm so excited for the season finale tomorrow!

xx Ariel


	2. Chapter 2

**I could not believe how many people responded to this story! I'm so happy! Here's the new chapter. I'm already working on the next one, and have a general idea about where I want to take the plot line, but if any of you guys want to see something in particular happen, let me know and I'll try to fit in in here! As always, I don't own anything (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. Let me know what you guys think. xx**

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Skye jerked awake and looked around. Her ankle was really cold and she was shivering. She looked towards timer and saw that it had gone off. She gingerly took the ice off of her ankle and prodded it with her fingers. It was still a little achey, but it felt much better than before. She stretched it out a little, and only felt a dull pain, rather than the intense pain she felt earlier. She smiled. May and Phil had fixed her.

Thinking of the kind lady and man who had instantly rushed to her aid made her feel a little sad. They were probably gone by now and she probably wouldn't see them again. She sighed and swung her feet off of the couch and onto the floor. The Ramsey's had probably already left and she felt relieved that they hadn't stopped and said goodbye on their way out. She never wanted to see them again.

Skye was walking slowly back towards the room she shared with some of the other girls. Since she was the smallest, the older girls always ended up taking her stuff. She tried to stand up for herself, but there was only so much she could do when she lacked to ability to put up a hard fight, and when all the nuns were convinced she was a "problem child." She didn't know why no one believed her.

She hated this place. She hated the uncomfy bed she had to sleep on and the clothes that never seemed to fit her. She hated that she would inevitably have a nightmare and would wet the bed and all the other kids would tease her for it while the nuns scolded her and made her clean her sheets up. She hated that no one would listen to what she said and that no one believed her when she was telling the truth. She wanted friends and she desperately wanted a family. The Harvey's could've been her family. They were her parents and they had started to feel like an actual family before they had died. No, they were killed. Skye killed them.

Having a family and then having it ripped away from you felt worse than never having a family at all, Skye thought to herself. This was the second time in her short life that she had been abandoned by people why had called themselves her parents.

Skye heard voices coming out of Sister Margaret's office. That was where people went when they wanted to take kids away from here. They went into Sister Holly's office when they were bringing them back. Skye didn't want to go back to her own room and face all the girls waiting to tease her in there, so she quietly walked up to the door, slightly limping to keep the pressure off of her bad ankle. She looked down the hallway to make sure that no one would see her spying on the people inside. No one was around. Now that she thought about it, she remembered that today was Sunday. The nuns made all the kids attend service on Sunday, and that lasted half of the day. Skye knew it was still morning, so no one would be around until the sun got to the top of the sky. She smiled.

She made sure to be super quiet as she approached the door. She put her hand on the doorjamb and leaned towards the small opening. It was May and Phil! They were still here! And they were in Sister Margaret's office, so that meant they wanted to take someone away from here. Maybe they could take her. She felt hoping growing inside of her before she squashed it down. They had seen her cry and complain earlier. She had made Phil feel bad and had acted like a total baby in front of them. They wouldn't want her. They probably wanted nice little girl or boy, who laughed and smiled all the time, and who wouldn't wet the bed. That wasn't Skye.

Even though they didn't want her, Skye kept staring at them. They were going to take somebody. Maybe they could take Lucy. She lived in Skye's room with her and was one of the only girls who didn't make fun of her. She didn't stick up for her either, but at least she left her alone. Lucy deserved to have a nice family. She was still staring intently at May when the older lady's eyes landed on her. She had been spotted.

May smiled at her, and before she could stop herself, she smiled back. Skye couldn't help it, she liked May. Maybe it was her kind face, or the way she treated Skye life a regular human, not a stupid orphan. Maybe it was how she kept giving her nice smiles or helped her out when she didn't have to. Skye didn't know what it was, but she felt herself trusting May. It was okay to trust girls. None of the foster moms Skye had been with had ever pushed her down or tried to scare her. Sure, they had yelled sometimes, but they weren't bad. The boys were bad. The boys did bad, mean things. Skye couldn't trust boys, but she could trust girls.

May was still smiling at her and so Skye gingerly lifted a hand and waved at her. May laughed silently and gently waved back. May jerked her head back towards Sister Margaret when she said, "I can show you some of the drawings some of our little ones did yesterday. They aren't here right now, they're in church, but this could help you get a feel for which one might work best in your home." Phil nodded eagerly and they both stood up. The group was walking towards the door and Skye started to panic. She ran down the hallway and hid behind a corner. The group exited the office and started walking towards the craft room. She could hear Phil asking questions.

Skye quietly followed them around. She stayed far enough away that they couldn't see her, but that also meant she couldn't hear what they were saying. She thought she heard her name a few times, but she was probably imagining it. They stopped in the crafts room and May and Phil started looking at the children's drawings. Phil pointed at one and May smiled down at it. Skye didn't have any drawings in there. If she did draw something, Jonathan always ended up tearing it apart, so she kept them folded neatly in her pillowcase. She wished she had one in there so that May and Phil could look at.

Once they were done looking at the drawings, they made their way back to the office. Skye hustled into the kitchen and hid behind some curtains as they passed by. She limped back towards the office after them, but the door was firmly shut. She sighed and trudged back to her old room. At least she could get settled before the other kids arrived.

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May knew Skye had been following them. She glanced back every now and then and saw a flash of dark hair or brown eyes staring at her. She had looked for one of her drawings in the craft room but couldn't find any. She asked the nun about Skye, telling her that they had met her on the way into the orphanage. Sister Margaret wasn't a fan of Skye's, May could tell. She had only said that Skye had just left a foster family and had returned today, and then she had redirected their attention back to the drawings that the other children had made.

When they were returning to the office, May saw Skye run behind some curtains in the kitchen. May saw how Skye was limping and favoring one leg over the other. She felt a rush of anger. This little girl was obviously being neglected or bullied or something. She felt protective over her. She didn't deserve to be treated like this. When they walked back into the office, May made sure to shut the door firmly behind her.

"Sister Margaret, there actually is one child in particular that I'd like to know about. She said her name was Skye. I asked about her earlier?"

The nun let out a breath, "Her name is actually Mary Sue, but she has taken it upon herself to change it. She just got back from staying with a nice foster family. She was hitting their son and acting disobedient and wouldn't stop, so they had no choice but to bring her back. I don't know if she's the right fit for you. We have some other, well-behaved children that also need to be foste-"

May cut her off, "Actually, I think she'd be a great fit for us," she glanced at Phil and he nodded at her. Good, she didn't want to make any decisions without him, "and we would like to foster her."

Sister Margaret stared at her. "Are you sure? Here's her file," she handed over a large manila folder, "and as you can see, she's fairly problematic." May could feel her anger growing. She didn't even glance at the file. Before she could open her mouth, Phil laid a gentle hand on her arm and spoke up, "Yes, we've made up our minds. We want Skye to be a part of our family. If you would be so kind as to give us the paperwork, we would greatly appreciate it." He narrowed his eyes at the nun, and she sputtered a little bit, but started filling out the paperwork.

Phil smiled at May, "I thought we weren't making any decisions today?" he whispered at her.

"We can't leave her here Phil."

"I know. I knew as soon as she hugged you that we had found the newest member of our family."

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Skye was sitting on her bed when she heard Sister Margaret open the door. She looked up and was about to speak, but then she spotted May and Phil walking into the room behind her. Her mouth snapped shut. She wouldn't get her hopes up. They were probably just coming in to say goodbye to her.

Phil grinned at her and May waved.

"Skye, this nice couple would like to be your new foster parents," Sister Margaret motioned towards May and Phil and Skye could not believe what she was hearing. She still wouldn't get her hopes up, in case this was some kind of joke. She didn't say anything.

Sister Margaret looked towards the couple, and May stepped forward and kneeled before Skye. "Hey Skye, if it's alright with you, we'd like to take you home with us?" She said it like a question. May was saying that if Skye said no, then she wouldn't have to go with them. She was giving her a choice. May was one of the only people who had ever done that before, and this was not even the first time she had done it today! Skye found it hard to swallow, she was so nervous.

"Is this for real? Or are you joking?" Skye whispered to May. She glanced up at the nun, and then focused back onto May's face.

May's lips twitched into a smile. Phil walked forward and kneeled beside May. Skye resisted the urge to lean away from him. He'd been nice to her so far and she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"This is for real Skye. We would really, really like it if you lived with us." Phil smiled at her and waited for her to say something. Skye knew she should say yes. She knew she should be jumping around with happiness, because these nice people wanted her and were willing to get her out of this place. But she needed to make sure of some things first. She had to be careful.

"Do you have any other kids?" She asked May. It was easier to talk to her.

"We have two, a boy and a girl. They older than you are, teenagers, but they're really excited about having a new sibling. They've been begging us for years to get them a little brother or sister." May answered her and reached for Skye's hand. Skye flinched a little, but let her take it.

They had other kids. Other kids didn't like Skye. They didn't like it when foster kids came in and tried to steal their parent's away from them. They would be mean to her.

As if May could tell what she was thinking, she said, "You know what? They were foster kids just like you are. But then they became a part of our family, just like you can too. I promise you, they're very nice."

Oh. They were orphans too? That would be better. They could still turn out to be mean, but for some reason, Skye trusted May when she said that they were nice. She was willing to take a chance, because even thought this could go terribly wrong and this new family could turn out as mean as the last one, Skye _really_ wanted a family.

So, she straightened up and tried to sound confident when she said, "Okay."

May and Phil beamed, and she could tell that they wanted to hug her, but were happy when they didn't. Skye smiled up at them though, so they knew that she appreciated them.

Sister Margaret interrupted, "Okay, well this paperwork should be complete by tomorrow. You can come pick Skye up around noon if that's okay?" The grown-ups started talking again and Skye felt sadness and a little bit of dread wash through her. They weren't taking her right now. They were coming back to get her. What if they forgot? What if they got home and decided they didn't want a new kid after all? What if they got into a car accident on the way here and died? Her heartbeat was going really fast and she tugged on May's hand. May sat on the bed besides Skye, "What's wrong sweetie?" May seemed like she was worried about her, and that made Skye feel even worse.

"You can't take me today?" Skye whispered. She could feel her eyes starting to well up, but refused to cry. They had already seen her cry today, and nobody wanted to crybaby in their family.

May stroked her cheek and it felt good. "I'm sorry, I really want to take you with us right now, but Sister Margaret won't let us until everything is filled out."

Skye's throat felt tight, so she didn't say anything, just looked down at her feet.

May ran her fingers through Skye's hair and Skye involuntarily leaned into her touch. "I'm so sorry Skye. We don't want to leave you here for tonight, but we _promise_ we'll come back for you, and Phil and I? We _never_ break our promises," Skye nodded at her, but still felt nervous and sad.

"How about this? I'll give you my phone number and you can call us if anything happens. Even if nothing bad is happening and you just want to talk, you can call us." That made Skye feel better. If they forgot about her, she could call them and remind them.

"Okay," she finally said. May smiled at her and wrote out her phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Skye. "You know how to use a phone, right?" when Skye nodded, May kept talking, "Okay, please don't be afraid to call me, okay Skye? I mean it, call me if you need me, and I'll be there." That sounded so similar to what Mrs. Harvey had said the night she had died that it made Skye's throat tighten again. She nodded at May. She felt like she should hug her, but it was still a little scary, so instead she wrapped her pinky around May's. May glanced down at the contact and smiled.

Phil came back over and kneeled by Skye so that he was looking into her eyes, "I'm so happy that you'll be joining our family Skye," and Skye could tell that he meant it. She grinned at him.

May and Phil both stood up and announced that they had to go and pick their daughter up from dance class. They were leaving.

Skye jumped up with them, determined to be with them until they drove away. She hovered near May and the women reached down and hooked her pinky with Skye's. The group walked towards the front door. The grown-ups were talking about adult things, and Skye didn't mind because May's pinky was locked around hers and it felt right. At the front door, they paused and May and Phil both leaned down to say goodbye.

"Goodbye Skye, We'll be here tomorrow at noon to pick you up." Phil paused before saying, "and I am so excited that you'll be living with us."

May nodded and said, "We're excited for you to join our family Skye. We'll be back tomorrow, and don't forget about what I said," and with that, May gingerly eased her pinky away from Skye's and they walked towards their car. They got in and looked back towards her. She raised a hand and waved until she couldn't see their car anymore.

Family. They were excited to have her be a part of their _family_. Skye didn't mind that Sister Margaret tugged her back into the orphanage and told her to go clean up her things. She didn't care that the other kids would be back soon and would probably tease her. She didn't even think about Jonathan and her hurt ankle. All she could think about was that she was about to have a family again. She couldn't stop grinning.

* * *

Okay guys, let me know what you think. Anything I should do differently? What do you like? Who do you think are May and Phil's other kids? More importantly, what did you guys think of the season finale? Message me if you have some ideas you'd like to see happen in this story, and I'll try to fit them in. Thank you so much for reading! xx - Ariel


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! So I'm updating this way earlier than I anticipated! I was going to update on Monday, but I had time today to sit down and write, and I got so into this chapter that I finished it all, so here it is! I hope you guys like it.**

 **There's a section in this chapter where Skye is dreaming, that will be italicized.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, or reviewed this fic. It means so much to me that you guys like it as much as I do :) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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Phil was smiling at his family. They were all sitting around the dinner table. Tomorrow, they would have to add another seat.

"I know this is pretty sudden and we didn't expect to find a child so quickly, but I know that you guys will really like her and make her feel welcome here," Mel was explaining the situation to their two other kids.

"Mom, you _know_ we'll love her. I've wanted a little sister since before you brought Trip home. No offense Trip, you're an awesome big brother." Natasha looked sheepishly over to Trip. He didn't seem to mind.

"None taken, Tash. I'm excited too." He was smiling broadly.

Phil knew that his kids would welcome Skye and try to make her feel comfortable and make her feel like she was a part of this family, but he also wanted them to know what they were getting themselves into.

"Look guys, I know you're both very excited to meet Skye, but please keep in mind that she's a foster kid. This will be her sixth foster family and she's only six years old. From what we saw, she's been neglected and probably abused. She's skittish and she was pretty scared of me when she saw me, so I'm not sure if she's that way towards all adults, or just men. So, Trip, she might not feel comfortable around you at first, and please know that it's not personal. She needs us you guys," His family was staring at him and he hoped that they understood that having Skye around was going to be challenging, but worth it.

"Dad, we know what it's like. We can help her. Nat and I, we know what she's going through," Phil looked up and smiled at his son.

"I know buddy. You guys are great kids. Skye is lucky to have you guys as siblings."

* * *

Skye's happiness slowly faded as the day progressed. All the other children came back from attending church it had gone as badly as it usually went. Normally, they would tease her, maybe push her around, and then leave her alone, but they were merciless today. Skye didn't know why everyone was being more mean than usual, but it was making her feel bad. The girls in her room had taken the new shoes that the Ramsey's had given her when she'd first arrived at their house, so she was stuck wearing her old, holey sneakers. She couldn't even go outside and play because of her hurt ankle, she was stuck sitting under a tree, watching all the other kids run around and have fun.

No one was happy that she was back. Skye wasn't even happy that she was back. What got her through the endless teasing and mean comments was knowing that Phil and May would be back tomorrow to take her away. Hopefully. She kept the paper with May's phone number folded neatly in the front pocket of her shorts. She kept checking to make sure that it was still there, and it always was. She resisted the urge to call them and make sure they remembered to come and get her. She didn't want to annoy them so much that they decided to leave her here.

The day was winding down and Skye was getting ready for bed. She was a little hungry because Jonathan had stolen her chicken off of her plate and she was left with icky green beans. She didn't like green beans. She was slowly brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas. She didn't like going to bed either. Her nightmares scared her. Sometimes she'd see monsters looming over her and red eyes staring at her from the darkness. Other times she was back in the Harvey's car, knowing that they were going to crash, but unable to warn them. A lot of the time she was back in an old foster home and her foster parents were yelling at her or pushing her around. She could never tell which nightmare was worse, but sometimes they scared her so bad that she wet the bed, and _that_ was worse than all of her nightmares combined. She couldn't even control her _own_ body, why would anyone want a kid like her?

As she lay down in her bed, she hoped that tonight would be a good night. Maybe knowing that May and Phil would be here soon to rescue her would be enough to ward off the nightmares. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

 _She was back at the Ramsey's house, playing with a doll on the floor of the living room. Mr. Ramsey was still at work, Mrs. Ramsey was making dinner in the kitchen and Aaron was upstairs in his room, so it was quiet and peaceful. She was actually having fun, so she smiled. Then, she heard a car door slam and she knew that Mr. Ramsey was back. She froze. Would it be safer to stay here and pretend she wasn't scared, or run away and hide and hope he didn't see her? She didn't have time to make a decision before the door slammed open. It banged against the wall before he shoved it closed. It made a loud noise that make Skye's ears ring._

 _She looked towards the doorway and saw Mr. Ramsey staring at her, so she forced herself to smile at him before looking away. Maybe if he thought she was happy to see him, he would leave her alone. That didn't work._

 _"What're you smiling about, huh? Are you laughing at me?" He started stomping towards her and ripped the doll out of her hands. The dolls plastic hand snagged on Skye's finger and it stung a little, but she didn't say anything._

 _Her eyes widened and she vigorously shook her head._

 _"What? We're not a good enough family for you to talk to? You think you're too good for us? We took you in! I put food on your plate and a roof over your head and this is how you thank me?!" His voice was getting louder and louder and Skye wanted to put her hands over her ears because his voice was hurting her head, but she knew that would only make things worse, so she looked down and stared at her shoes. She felt frozen in place._

 _"You look at me when I'm talking to you! Why does no one respect me around here? Stand up and look me in the eye when I'm talking to you!" He was screaming at her and Skye whimpered. She forced herself to stand up, but couldn't control how much her body was shaking._

 _"You ungrateful, stupid little girl! You don't appreciate anything we do for you! I don't know why we even took you in! My wife wanted a little girl to talk to and have fun with, so I went to get her one, and we ended up with you!"He was yelling right in her face and she could feel his spit hit her cheeks, but she couldn't move. All she could do was take his insults and hope it would stop soon._

 _"What? You got nothing to say?" Skye stayed silent and tried to stop her legs from quivering._

 _Mr. Ramsey let out an incoherent yell and threw her doll at the wall. It hit a picture hanging there and the glass shattered and the picture frame fell._

" _Look what you made me do!" Mr. Ramsey let out a scream of rage and then started destroying the rest of the living room. He slammed his fist into the wall and threw pictures onto the ground. He grabbed a lamp and hurled it on the floor, and Skye watched as it shattered to pieces. A piece of the lamp flew right towards her and cut her on the thigh, but she didn't say anything, just started to silently cry._

 _After he had destroyed the room, he stomped right up to her. He was looming over her and yelling in her face. "You ruin everything! You ruined our lives and you killed your last foster parents! I don't even know why we took you in! Yeah, the nuns told us how you were the one to kill the last family who took care of you! It's all your fault! Everything is your fault!" Skye was sobbing now and didn't even notice when his hand struck out and pushed her, hard. She felt his hand connect with her ribs and she lost her breath. She fell backwards, and she knew that her head would connect with the edge of the coffee table that was sitting in front of the couch, but before that happened, she jerked awake._

Skye's eyes flew open and she quickly doubled over and tried to catch her breath. She couldn't breathe. She was getting hysterical and she couldn't calm down. She took a deep breath and counted to five. That's what Mrs. Harvey taught her to do when this happened. It helped to calm her down and she gulped down air. She looked around the room and was relieved to find that all the other girls were still sleeping. She shifted to lay back down again when she felt her pajama pants sticking to her legs.

"Please no. No, this can't be happening." She threw back her covers and sure enough, there was a ring of wetness in the middle of her bed. Her nerves were already frazzled due to her nightmare and she couldn't stop the tears from rushing down her face. She needed to clean this up before anyone saw. She was too old to be doing this and the nuns would yell at her.

She stood up and ripped the sheets off of her bed. She had plastic sheets underneath her normal ones, so at least her mattress wasn't wet. She dragged them to the laundry room and hid them under some other dirty sheets. Maybe they wouldn't notice when they did the laundry. She grabbed clean sheets and tiptoed back into her room and remade her bed. She then grabbed a new nightgown and crept towards the bathroom. She was still crying silently, and she couldn't stop. She tried to count to five like Mrs. Harvey taught her, but it wasn't working.

When she got to the bathroom, she took off her ruined pajamas and cleaned herself up. She put on her new pajamas and hid her soiled ones at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper. She stepped towards a mirror and stared at herself.

Her face was red from crying and the tears weren't stopping. Her dream was right. Everything was her fault. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey would still be alive if it wasn't for her. It was her fault that Mr. Ramsey had always been mad at her and it was her fault that all her other foster families didn't want her. No one wanted a kid like her. Oh no, May and Phil wouldn't want a kid like her.

She started to panic. May and Phil probably didn't know that she had nightmares and wet the bed and accidently got people killed; if they did, they wouldn't want her.

She silently ran back into her room and grabbed the piece of paper with May's phone number on it. Without thinking, she ran into the kitchen where the nuns left the phone, grabbed it, and ran back into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and dialed the number. When it started to ring, she froze. What was she doing? She knew it was nighttime and May was probably sleeping! She'd be annoyed if Skye woke her up. And what was Skye even going to say to May? She was about to hang up when she heard a groggy voice answer the phone.

"Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"Skye could tell that she had woken May up and that made her feel terrible. She started crying harder.

"Skye? Is that you?" May sounded worried. Skye didn't want May to be upset, but she couldn't make her voice work.

"Skye? Are you okay? What's wrong sweetie?" May's kind words made Skye cry a little harder. She knew she needed to be quiet or someone would wake up and find her, and she knew that she needed to answer May, but her throat felt tight, and the only things coming from her mouth were sobs.

She didn't notice at first that May had started singing softly. She didn't know the words to the song, and it didn't sound like it was in English, but it was nice. May's voice was soft and it helped Skye calm down when she focused on it. Her tears finally stopped and she sniffled a little bit. When May heard, she stopped singing.

"Skye? Are you okay sweetie? Do you want us to come see you?"They couldn't drive here! It was nighttime and they could get in a car accident and then Skye would lose another family.

She finally got her voice to work and managed to answer, "No! You can't come here at night! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called," she could feel her eyes welling up again.

"Skye, listen to me okay? Don't ever feel bad about calling when you need me. Phil and I _want_ to take care of you. We _want_ to be here for you when you need us. I want you to know that any time you need me, I'll be there for you, even if it's…"She paused, "2:17 in the morning. We are here for you, okay?" May sounded earnest and Skye imagined her kind face smiling at her.

Skye nodded, but then realized that May couldn't see her, so she whispered, "Okay."

"Okay," Skye could hear the smile in May's voice. "Now that you're feeling a little better, can you tell me what happened?"

Skye knew she should tell May about the nightmare and about how she wet the bed, so that May would know that Skye was a problem. Then if May decided she didn't want her, at least it would be before she grew attached to them, but she couldn't. Instead she blurted out, "I killed my other foster parents," It felt weird saying the words out loud. She had always thought them and Mr. Ramsey had said it a few times, but she never had.

May didn't say anything, so Skye continued on, "I killed them. They had to come and pick me up from a sleepover and when we left, a car hit us and they died. I saw it. It was my fault and I killed them." Skye's eyes were leaking tears and she was clenching the phone in her tiny hands. She paused for only half a second before continuing, "They're dead now, but they said they wanted me to be a part of their family. You said the same thing. So, I just wanted you to know that I probably shouldn't be. A part of your family, I mean. Cause I could kill you too, by accident, and I don't want to." Skye said the last part in a rush. She _really_ wanted to live with May and Phil, but they deserved to know that she was a killer. If that meant that they wouldn't want her anymore, then at least they would still be alive.

May didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, and Skye started to worry that May had hung up on her, but then she heard May's voice, "Oh sweetie, you didn't kill them, the car that hit you did. It was _not_ your fault, okay baby?"

"It was though! If it wasn't for me, they would still be alive."Skye was still crying, and her voice cracked on the last part of the sentence. She was clinging to the phone like a lifeline.

"Skye, it was not your fault. You didn't kill anyone, okay? It was an accident, and accidents happen all the time, unfortunately, but you had nothing to do with them dying." May's voice was soft and it sounded sad. Skye didn't say anything, so May continued. "We still want you. We still want you to be a part of our family, and nothing is going to change that. Do _you_ still want to be a part of our family?"

Skye was quiet for a few seconds. She did. She really wanted a family, and she wanted to live with May and Phil and she wanted to meet their other kids, and maybe they would like her and be nice to her and maybe they could be a family. She wanted them, and it was probably selfish for her to make them take care of a kid as bad as her, but she wanted it anyway.

She was still sitting on the floor of the bathroom, clenching the phone between her little fist, but her tears had stopped and she felt a little better after talking to May, "Yes, I want to be a part of your family." She whispered it.

"Good, because we want you Skye. Now, are you sure you don't want us to come and see you? We can drive over, it won't take long and we don't mind, I promise," Skye could hear May smiling and her kindness made Skye's eyes tear up again, but she refused to cry any more.

"No, I'm okay, I promise," She paused and took a deep breath before mumbling, "Thank you."

"Okay, but only if you're sure."

"I am. I'm okay."

"Alright sweetie. It's pretty late, how about you try to go back to sleep? Phil and I will be there early to pick you up. I know Sister Margaret said noon, but we'll probably come by earlier because we're so excited to see you."

Skye smiled at that, "Okay May, goodnight."

"Goodnight Skye," May's voice was soft and gentle. Skye hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

She quietly put the phone back where she got it and made her way back to her room. She slid under her covers after noting that all the girls were still sleeping. She laid there thinking about what May had said. She still wanted Skye, even though she knew she killed her other foster family and was a problem. She had _promised_ that she wanted Skye to be a part of her family, not matter what. Skye didn't know if she believed her. She barely knew May. But she really, really wanted to. She shut her eyes and fell asleep thinking of the song May had sung to her earlier.

* * *

Natasha was sitting on the staircase facing the door. Her parents had gone to pick up their new sister awhile ago and they should be back any minute. Trip was in his room doing schoolwork on his computer, but Nat wasn't able to focus on her homework. She was getting a sister. She had always, desperately, wanted a younger sibling.

She had been 10 when May and Phil had fostered her. She was Russian, but had been forced to come over to America with a bunch of bad men. She grew up around these men, and they treated her as a pet, not like a human. She knew they did drugs and kidnapped other girls and made them do bad stuff, but she tried not to think about it. She had been terrified when men in black uniforms stormed into their house, pointing guns at the bad men and asking her if she was alright. Back then, she barely spoke any English and was terrified, but she didn't want to show any weakness, so she stood up straight and punched the guy in the face. She didn't know why she did it. Probably because he was touching her arm and she hated being touched, or maybe because she was scared out of her mind and didn't know what was happening. Either way, she had done it, and they did not react well. They restrained her and brought her to jail with the other bad men. She couldn't talk to them, so she didn't. She just sat there and stared at them while they asked her question after question until Social Services showed up and took her out of there.

She was placed in one other foster home before she was taken in by May and Phil. She was only there for a week before her "older brother" tried to sneak into her room one night. She put him in the hospital and they put her back into the system.

Then, May and Phil took her in and she will never be able to express to them how grateful she is. They were calm when she hurled insults at them in Russian. They taught her English and helped her find ways to channel her anger and deal with her emotions. May took her to her first dance class and Phil helped her with her schoolwork. She loved them and she knew that they were her real family.

She was 12 when they told her she was going to get a new sibling. She thought it would be a younger sibling, but then they brought home Trip. He was 14 and had a smile on his face from the second he walked through the door. Natasha was convinced that he wasn't a real foster kid. None of the other kids she knew were that happy. His parents had died in a car crash a couple months ago. He had an aunt who took care of him for a little while, but had refused to continue. May and Phil were his first foster parents, and Natasha made sure he knew how lucky he was to be put with them rather than some other family. She didn't trust Trip at first. It had taken her 3 months to even have a civil conversation with May and Phil, but Trip's eternal happiness and jokes cracked her tough exterior. Over the past two years, they had become closer. Not only siblings, but friends.

May and Phil had adopted both of them last year, and they had officially become a family. They stuck together and helped each other out, and it was great having parents who loved her and an older brother who was always there for her, but she still wanted a younger sibling.

So, when her mom and dad told her that they were going to bring a little girl home, she was thrilled. Phil told her about Skye's situation and how jumpy she was, but Natasha was determined to make her feel welcome here. She wanted to be a big sister and she wanted Skye to know that she could trust this family. She remembered how scared she had been her first few days living with a new family, and she didn't want Skye to go through this alone.

She heard a car door shut and her head snapped towards the front door. She heard the key going into the lock and she saw the doorknob twist, and she felt nervousness creep up on her. What if Skye didn't like her? What if she was a bad big sister? What if they ended up hating each other?

Natasha was wrenched from her thoughts as she heard her mom's voice, "and there's a park down the street we can go to if you want?" Natasha saw her dad enter first and he stepped aside to let her mom walk through the door. Behind her was a tiny girl with long brown hair and brown eyes. Her bangs were getting in her eyes and her hair was falling out of its ponytail. She had on shorts and a red shirt that was too big for her. Her right pinky was wrapped around her mom's left one. She was adorable.

She was looking around the house, and when she spotted Natasha she froze. Nat saw her whole body clench up and she took a step back. Natasha gently smiled, making sure to stay still so she wouldn't startle little Skye. Skye studied her and finally lifted a tiny hand and waved softly, refusing to make eye contact. Her dad opened his mouth, probably to introduce them, but then Trip came running down the stairs. He stopped right by Natasha and smiled brightly at Skye.

Nat saw fear flash in the little girl's eyes and she stepped behind May, hiding her whole body behind her mom's legs.

"Hey girl, I'm Trip, you're new brother."

Natasha sighed.

* * *

So? What did you guys think? I hope you guys are happy with Trip and Natasha being May and Phil's other children. Some of you guys guessed correctly! Someone (a guest) suggested that they be Wanda and Pietro and it never even crossed my mind before then! I considered doing it, but I don't think I know enough about their characters to do them justice. They might appear later in the fic though, so will some other Marvel characters :)

Let me know what you guys think! Anything I'm doing wrong? Anything I'm doing right? And most importantly, how are you guys coping with the new season of AoS being so far away? I'm not doing to well. The only thing keeping me going is knowing that AoS and Agent Carter have both been renewed. Have a lovely day and thank you for reading! xx -Ariel


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I couldn't sleep last night, so I worked on this chapter instead. It starts off when Skye wakes up and is waiting for May and Phil to come and get her, so... before the last chapter ended. Sorry if the format is a little confusing!**

 **I'm so happy that you all are liking this story. I love reading your reviews! As always, I don't own anything (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. I hope you like it!**

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When Skye first woke up, she didn't remember her nightmare or her call to May. Then, when she rubbed away the last of her sleepiness, it all came flooding back. Her cheeks heated and embarrassment flashed through her. She couldn't believe what had happened. She had to remind herself what May had said, about her wanting Skye to be a part of their family no matter what, to keep from crawling back under the covers. She still felt embarrassed, but it wasn't as bad as before.

She hopped out of bed and went to the bathroom. It was a Monday, but since it was Labor Day, no one had to go to school. A lot of the other kids weren't awake yet. Skye always woke up pretty early. It had become a habit after living with Foster Family Number 3. Her foster mom got mad when Skye didn't wake up when she told her to and would yell. To avoid that, she forced herself to start waking up before everyone else and the habit had just stuck. She brushed her teeth and went back to her room.

She got dressed in some shorts and a red shirt. It was a little big, but it didn't have any holes in it and it looked clean. She wanted to look nice when she met her new family members. She tried to pull her hair into a ponytail, but she had trouble reaching all of it. It came out a little messy, but at least her hair was out of her face.

She pulled her bag out from under her bed. She hadn't unpacked yesterday, knowing she would be leaving soon anyway. She threw her pajamas and toothbrush into the bag. She took her drawings out of her pillowcase and gingerly placed them between her clothes in her bag, so that they wouldn't get wrinkled. She pulled on her old, holey sneakers and missed her newer ones that the older girls had taken away from her yesterday. She looked around to see if she had missed anything, but that was it. She was packed and ready to go. She looked out the window and saw that it was still pretty dark out and the sun was still rising. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but if she went into the kitchen, they had a digital clock there that Skye was able to read.

She left the room and walked quietly into the kitchen. One of the nuns was in there, probably starting to get breakfast ready for all of the kids. It was Sister Louise, and she was pretty nice, so Skye didn't feel the need to sneak around. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was 6:48. She sighed. May and Phil wouldn't be here to get her for a little while still. On the phone, May had said that they would be here earlier than noon, but Skye wasn't sure how early that meant.

She reached her hand into a bowl of fruit, hoping to grab an apple, but Sister Louise's hand shot out of nowhere and stopped her. "Sorry pumpkin, no eating until breakfast."

Skye wrinkled her nose. Sister Louise usually wasn't this strict. The nun stared at Skye and tilted her head to the right. Skye looked over and saw Sister Margaret walking past the kitchen and towards her office. Skye caught on and said, "Yes ma'am."

The nun smiled and grabbed the apple Skye had been planning to take. She lowered it so that her hand was hidden behind the counter and handed it to Skye. The little girl grabbed it and put it under her shirt. "Why don't you go color until breakfast is ready?" Sister Louise smiled at her and gently shoved her towards the craft room. Skye smiled in response and swiftly walked out of the kitchen. Once she was safely in the craft room, she took out the apple and bit into it.

Skye munched on her apple and drew pictures, waiting for May and Phil to pick her up. She heard the nuns calling to all the children, telling them that breakfast was served, but Skye didn't feel like eating or putting up with the other kids. She knew May and Phil could be here at any time and she felt nervous and excited at the same time. It was making her stomach hurt a little and so she tried distracting herself. She got tired of drawing after awhile and grabbed a book instead. She couldn't read the words on the pages, but she traced the pictures with her fingers instead, and that still was pretty fun.

Skye had moved from the books and onto playing with the limited amount of dolls available when she heard the front door open. It could have been one of the nuns, but she heard Sister Margaret greet the people at the door, and she knew it was May and Phil.

Butterflies erupted in her tummy and her heart started beating fast. They were here to take her away, just like she wanted, but she was nervous. What if they weren't as nice as they seemed? What if their other kids hated her and picked on her? What if they got tired of her and sent her back? She was staring at her hands and pondering these things when she heard Phil's voice greet her from the doorway. She jerked her head up and stared at him. He was smiling kindly at her and May was right beside him, a matching smile on her face. She hastily stood up and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. She was scared and didn't really want to talk, so she just raised her hand and waved at them.

Sister Margaret was standing behind them and caught their attention, "I just need you to sign the last of this paperwork and she's all yours." Sister Margaret said that a little too happily for Skye's liking, but she didn't say anything. Phil glanced at May and then left her to follow the nun back to her office.

She was standing alone in a room with May and she was feeling embarrassed again. What if May had changed her mind and was actually mad at Skye for calling her so late last night? She looked down at her shoes and started rocking gently back and forth. She saw May's shoes getting closer to her but she didn't look up. She felt a little relieved when May stopped a little distance away from her.

"Hey Skye. Are you feeling better today?" May sounded like she was concerned about Skye, and that made the little girl feel even more embarrassed. She could feel her cheeks heating up and she nodded without taking her eyes off of her shoes.

Skye saw May start to move closer, and she involuntarily took a step back. May stopped and took a deep breath, "Skye, sweetie, would you please look at me? I want to make sure you're really okay. I'm not mad at you, I swear." She didn't sound mad, and she hadn't lied to Skye so far, so Skye lifted her head and met May's eyes. The older lady smiled at Skye, and she could see that May _wasn't_ mad at her. She had her hands held out in front of her in a placating manner and a gentle smile on her face.

"There are those beautiful brown eyes. Are you really okay?" May took a step closer and Skye didn't step away from her, she stayed where she was.

"I'm okay, I promise." May didn't look like she was convinced though, so Skye decided to smile at her to reassure her. May looked a little shocked at that, but grinned in response. She didn't question her further.

"Are you ready to go?"

Skye nodded.

"Do you have your bag packed?"

The little girl nodded again.

"Well aren't you prepared? How about we go grab that bag and find Phil?" May was looking at her expectantly, so Skye nodded for a third time and gently said, "follow me," before leading May out of the craft room and into her room. She ran to her bed and grabbed her bag. She looked around one last time to make sure she had everything before walking back to May's side and looking up at her.

"You want me to carry that for you?" The duffel bag was fairly small, but so was Skye, so it looked pretty big compared to her. Skye knew that May was just asking because of that, but she wasn't sure she wanted May to touch all of her things just yet. This was all she had and she was used to keeping her belongings close to her, otherwise they got stolen or ruined. She pulled the bag closer to her body. She didn't want to tell May no and risk her getting mad. As if May sensed this, she said, "Skye, you don't have to give it to me. If you want to carry it, that's perfectly fine."

Skye let out a deep breath, "Okay, I want to carry it. Please?"

May just smiled in return and stepped towards the door, "Let's go find my husband. I bet that mean old nun is holding him hostage."

Skye didn't know what 'hostage' meant, but the way May said it sounded funny, so Skye grinned and walked towards Sister Margaret's office. They found Phil in there and the grown-ups started talking. Skye zoned out and imagined what her new siblings would be like. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called. It was time to go.

Skye didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone, she just walked with the group out the front door. When she spotted the car, she froze. For some reason, it had never really registered that Skye would have to go in a car to get to May and Phil's house. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind! She had been too worried about everything else. Now that she saw it though, her heart started beating fast and her breathing got shallower. She tried to remain calm as she walked towards the car. Sister Margaret was saying goodbye and walking away, and May and Phil were talking about something, but she couldn't hear them over the loud noise of blood rushing in her head. She wouldn't freak out. She _couldn't_ freak out. She didn't want May and Phil to see her like this, they would think she was broken.

Phil was opening the car door and looking expectantly at Skye. She couldn't move her feet forward. She couldn't breathe right and her eyes started welling up with tears. She couldn't get in the car even though she knew she needed to. Her vision got blurry and her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would explode. Somehow, she saw Phil reaching for her and she flinched so hard, she stumbled back a step. She was breathing harder, like she did after she ran around the playground for too long.

"Skye? Skye, listen to my voice sweetie. Everything is alright, okay? Skye, can you focus on me please?" Skye heard May's voice calling to her and she turned to where the sound was coming from. She felt herself start to cry, and she hated herself for it, but at least she could see better than before. She saw May staring at her intensely and she was kneeling down so that Skye didn't have to look up at her.

"Good girl. Okay, now try to match your breathing to mine, alright? Take a deep breath in… and let it out," Skye tried to match May's breathing, and it helped a little, but her heart was still beating super fast and it was banging against her ribcage.

Skye whimpered, "My heart is going to explode, May." She didn't know if the older lady understood what she was saying through her tears.

Suddenly, May grabbed her hand. Skye wasn't expecting it, so she couldn't stop it, but instead of hurting her, May held it gently and raised it up to her own chest. Skye could feel May's heart beating. It was strong and steady. Skye pushed her hand closer to May's chest and let the older woman's heartbeat calm her down. Her tears stopped and her breathing returned to normal. Her chest didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore, but she was still scared. She looked back towards the car.

This time, it was Phil's voice that drew her eyes away from it. "Skye, I'm a safe driver and would never endanger yours or anyone else's life while I'm driving. If you want, I could drive extra slow?" Skye's hand was still on May's chest, and her fist involuntarily clenched around May's shirt. She didn't answer. He tried again.

"How about we have May sit in the back with you?" That sounded better. Skye couldn't help but feel safe around May and she could help her breathe if Skye started panicking again.

"Really?" She asked Phil. He smiled at her and nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. If it will make you feel better, of course we'll do it." He sounded so sincere, and his words were so nice that Skye felt bad for flinching away from him earlier. Phil was nice. He hadn't done anything mean to her so far and Skye wanted to trust him like she was starting to trust May, but she couldn't. Not yet. So she did the best she could and gave him a watery smile instead.

She pulled her hand away from May and cautiously approached the car. The door was still open from earlier, so Skye gingerly got in and sat in her booster seat. May leaned forward and buckled her in. As May walked around the car to get in on the other side, Phil stood by her and kept the door open so that she wouldn't be in the car alone. She felt grateful for that. May got into the car and buckled up, and Phil shut the door took his place in the front seat. He glanced back at May and she nodded at him. He started up the car and they were off.

Skye was okay when they were on the deserted roads leading away from the orphanage. She wasn't happy or felt safe, but she was okay. It was when Phil got onto the highway that Skye started to panic. There were too many cars speeding by them. A semi barreled past them and Skye whimpered. May noticed and got her attention.

"Hey Skye, have you ever played Ms. Mary Mack?" Skye looked over at May and tilted her head. She had never heard of that before.

"No, what's that?"

May smiled at her, "It's this game that you play with one other person. I can teach it to you, if you want?" Skye studied her and then nodded.

It turns out that the game was kind of like patty cake. Skye figured out that it was basically intense high-fiving with a little extra flare. There was a certain type of partner- hand –clapping-thing that you had to do along with a little nursery rhyme that you had to sing. Skye had gotten the hang of it after a few tries and was playing with May.

She and May were clapping their hands together and singing the rhyme, "Ms. Mary Mack, Mack, Mack all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons all down her back, back, back. She asked her mother, mother, mother for fifty cents, cents, cents to see the elephants, elephants, elephants, jump over the fence, fence, fence. They jumped so high, high, high, they touched the sky, sky, sky and didn't come back, back, back, until they fourth of July, -ly, -ly."

Skye was so involved with the game that she hadn't noticed the car had stopped until Phil declared that they were home. She instantly felt nervous again. Her new brother and sister were in there.

May unbuckled her and Skye jumped out of the car and studied the house in front of her. It was two stories and painted blue. The porch wrapped around the whole front of it and there was a porch swing. There were flowers lining the walkway that led to the front door. The house was beautiful, and one of the biggest one Skye had ever been able to live in. May and Phil were standing by her and were letting her take everything in.

May leaned down so that they were eye-to-eye, "Are you nervous?"

Skye shook her head, even though she was.

May looked like she knew Skye was lying, but decided not to say anything. Instead, May held out her pinky. Skye stared at it for a second before taking it with her own.

May straightened and started walking towards the front door with Skye following her and Phil leading them. "We have a pretty nice backyard that you can play in. Both of our neighbors have kids around your age that you can play with too. Oh, and there's a park down the street we can go to if you want?" May was talking to her and Skye was only half listening.

Phil had opened the front door and they were walking inside. They stopped right inside the doorway and Skye looked around. Their house was beautiful. It was neat, but still looked homey. It had an open floor plan, so you could see the kitchen, living room, and dining room all at once. Skye took in the comfy looking furniture and the stacks of books lining the bookshelf in the living room. Her eyes were sweeping past the staircase when she saw someone sitting on it. She froze and instinctively took a step back.

It was a girl and she was older than Skye was. She had bright red hair and green eyes, and she was staring intensely at Skye. She didn't get up from where she was sitting, she just smiled kindly at Skye and continued looking at her. Skye wondered what her name was. Her eyes were kind and her smile was really pretty. Skye decided that the girl didn't look mean or like she was going to hurt her, so she lifted the hand that wasn't holding onto May's and waved shyly. She saw Phil open his mouth to say something from the corner of her eye, but he was interrupted by the sound of running feet.

An older boy came rushing through the hallway and down the stairs, stopping when he reached where the redheaded girl was sitting. Skye's eyes widened. He was loud and big and kind of scary, so Skye rushed behind May's legs and hid. She heard the older boy say, "Hey girl, I'm Trip, you're new brother."

Skye's left pinky was still wrapped around May's right one, and now her right hand was clenching the bottom of May's shirt. Trip's voice was smooth and deep and it sounded nice and friendly, but he was pretty tall and loud and Skye was scared. She pushed her face into the back of May's legs. She heard a new voice, it was raspier but still nice, and she guessed that it belonged to the girl sitting on the staircase, "Trip! You scared her!"

She felt May's pinky tighten around hers and heard Trip speak again, "I'm sorry Skye, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just really excited to meet you." He sounded sincere, so Skye peered around May's legs. The redhead had stood up, and compared to Trip, she was pretty short. Trip was smiling brightly at Skye and his eyes were warm. She took a small step away from May, but made sure she was still behind her, before cautiously waving at him too.

May released her pinky and beckoned the two other kids closer. They descended the rest of the staircase and stopped when they were in front of Skye.

"Skye, you already met Trip, and this is Natasha. They're both very excited that you are joining our family," May waved a hand towards the two older kids and smiled down at Skye.

"We sure are. Welcome to the family Skye!" Trip was leaning down and holding out his hand towards her. She guessed that he wanted a high-five, but wasn't sure. She looked up at Phil and he gave her an encouraging nod, so Skye gingerly pushed her hand into Trip's before quickly pulling it back towards her chest.

Skye's lack of enthusiasm didn't seem to faze Trip, and he continued smiling at her. Skye noticed that the girl, Natasha, was still looking at her intently. Skye didn't know if she was grateful that Natasha was being quiet or scared. Trip didn't seem mad that she was here, but she wasn't sure what Natasha thought.

Phil clapped his hands together and Skye couldn't stop from jumping at the sudden sound. He shot her an apologetic look before saying, "Well! Now that introductions are out of the way, I'm going to go make us all some lunch. Skye, May will show you where your room is okay sweetie? Trip, how about you come help me?"

Trip nodded and slowly walked to the kitchen with Phil, but he kept looking back at Skye and smiling.

May started walking up the stairs and Skye followed. "Your room is upstairs Skye, right next to Natasha's. We decorated it for you, but if you don't like it, we can change it." May sounded nervous. They walked past the first room on the left and it had a word on it that Skye couldn't read. It also had paint all over it. The door looked like it was a forest covered in snow. The trees were dead and had no leaves on them and it was obviously winter because the sky was gray and snow was falling. It was beautiful. Skye paused in front of it to admire it. Skye had never met a family that allowed people to paint on the doors, but she had also never met a family quite like this one.

She kept walking and looked over to the first room on the right. The door was slightly open and she saw a desk with a computer on it. The bed had dark green covers and she was guessing that this was Trip's room. That meant that the door with the beautiful painting on it belonged to Natasha. Maybe Skye could ask Natasha to color with her?

"Our room is right down there, at the end of the hallway, and your room is right here," they paused by the second door on the left. It was closed and Skye took a deep breath before placing her hand on the doorknob. She never got her hopes up when entering a new room. Most of the time, she had to share a room with some other kid, so she was already pretty lucky that she got her own room in this house. She twisted the handle and opened the door. Her mouth hung open in surprise at what she saw.

The room had light blue walls, a fluffy carpet, and a pretty bed. Her covers were light blue with white polka dots and there was light blue material hanging from the ceiling that draped over the top of her bed frame and made it look like it belonged to a princess. The bedside table was painted white with little flower designs on the edges and so was her dresser. There was a dollhouse sitting in the corner and a desk facing the wall by the door. On the desk, there was a pretty lamp that had a pink lampshade, so it cast a cool pink light, making that half of the room appear to be purple. She saw a white door at the far end of her room near the dollhouse, and assumed that was where her closet was. She loved it. She loved everything about this room.

She couldn't resist running around and touching everything. She ran her hands down her comforter and noted how soft it was. She dropped to her knees and put her hands on the carpet. It was soft and plush, the tips of her fingers disappeared in it. She stood back up, ran to the dollhouse and kneeled in front of it. It was the kind that you could open up and see the inside. There were some miniature dolls already living in the house. She ran over to her desk and held her hands up to the lamp so that she could see the shadow that it casted. She was beaming and had forgotten that May was in the room with her. She looked back towards the doorway and saw not only May standing there, but Natasha too. They were smiling at her.

She smiled back and said, "I love it. Thank you." She felt like she should hug May, because a thank you didn't really cover the magnitude of what she was feeling, but Natasha was staring at her and Skye didn't know if she would want some new little girl hugging her mom. Instead, Skye held out her pinky and May instantly grabbed onto it.

"I can help you unpack before lunch is ready?" May offered. It was then that Skye realized that her bag was still in the car. May seemed to realize this too because she said, "You girls hang on, I'll be right back," and then she rushed out the door.

There was an awkward moment when Natasha and Skye were left alone where no one moved or said anything. Skye broke it by wandering over to her bedside table and running her fingers over the flowers painted on it. They were tiny and were only on the edges of the furniture, same with the dresser, but Skye thought that that was perfect. She heard Natasha clear her throat.

"Do you like the flowers?" Natasha sounded nervous. Skye looked up at her.

"They're really pretty. I love them," She spoke quietly and continued running her fingers over the design.

Natasha cleared her throat again and looked away, "Ah, that's good. I, uh, I painted them for you." Skye's fingers froze.

Natasha had painted the flowers for her. She had been thinking of Skye when she did that, and she didn't have to, she did it because she wanted to. Skye didn't know what to say. It was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for her. Maybe Natasha really _did_ want her for a sister.

Before Skye could say anything, Natasha started speaking again. "I was a foster kid too, you know? I was scared when I first came to live with May and Phil. I didn't know who they were and I didn't know they were as nice as they are. And I know that you are probably scared too, because you don't know us that well, but I wanted you to know that I'm happy you're here and you don't have to be scared of us. We all want you to be here and we want you to be a part of our family…" She paused for a second before continuing quickly, "and maybe one day, you could think of me as your big sister." She still wasn't looking at Skye.

Skye's eyes starting welling up with tears. Natasha was right. She _was_ scared. Living with new families was always scary and nerve-wracking and Skye usually got stuck with mean people, but Natasha was being nice. She understood what she was going through and was trying to make her feel welcome here. No other foster sibling had ever done that before.

Natasha was still looking at the floor, and so Skye slowly approached her. When she was standing directly in front of Natasha, the older girl finally looked up. Skye studied her. Natasha looked a little embarrassed, but fully sincere. She really meant what she had said. Skye took a deep breath and held out her pinky, hoping that Natasha would catch on that she was still a little too afraid to hug her and this was the best she could do right now. Fortunately, Natasha understood, because she smiled brightly and gripped Skye's tiny pinky with her own. Skye smiled back at her and whispered, "Thank you Natasha."

Their pinkies were still interlocked what May walked in with Skye's bag a couple of seconds later.

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So... what do you guys think? Aren't Skye and Nat adorable? I think Natasha will be a _wonderful_ big sister! There'll be more Trip and Phil in the next chapter, I promise!

One reader (Gleevengers98) mentioned that they were in the middle of taking their exams, and I want to wish all of you guys the best of luck if you're still taking yours! (I finished mine last week, thank God)

Let me know what you guys think! I love hearing from you. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see happen? Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! The little boy that I nanny for is sick so his parents stayed home to look after him and I got the day off, so I had all morning to write this. I planned for this chapter to go one way, but it kind of just took over and turned out differently. As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own.**

 **I'd like to thank Salkri Kachemench for the prompt idea! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope I did you proud.**

 **WARNING : this chapter hints at sexual abuse. If that's triggering for you or you just aren't comfortable reading that, please don't read this chapter. I'll have the next one up soon, and it won't have anything like that in there.**

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The rest of the day had been fairly uneventful. After May brought her bag into her room, Skye quickly put away all of her things. May helped her hang up her few shirts, and didn't say anything about how they were either too big or had holes in them.

Natasha stayed quiet and watched them silently, only speaking up to suggest that they go shopping soon, "Hey mom, I've been wanting to get some new jeans. Is it okay if we go shopping soon? Maybe we can grab Skye some new outfits too?" Natasha glanced at Skye and then stared purposefully at May. The older lady had nodded and said how that was a great idea. Skye didn't think anything of it.

They all ate lunch together. Phil made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and gave her a bowl full of goldfish crackers. Skye liked looking at the crackers, but she felt badly for eating them because they were smiling at her, so she just munched on her sandwich and listened to everyone talk.

She didn't say much, but no one really expected her to or forced her to, and she was grateful for that. They were talking about their day and Natasha and Trip were telling May and Phil about what was going on at their school, and even though Skye had no idea what or who they were talking about, she still felt included in the conversation. It felt nice. After lunch, they showed her around the house. Skye stuck close to May and Natasha, but Phil and Trip didn't seem to mind.

She liked the house. It was pretty big, but felt comfortable. They had a room upstairs that had video games, books, and toys. Phil told her that they had pulled out their old toys and dolls and put them in the room for Skye to play with. That made her feel really good.

She was sitting in the play room coloring, Natasha was laying on the floor next to her reading a book and Trip was playing video games and sitting on the beanbag chair in front of the t.v. It was quiet and Skye made sure to keep herself distanced from the other two kids, but they didn't seem to mind too much. It was nice being around them and it was good that they weren't being mean to her. Natasha glanced up at her and smiled before returning to her book.

It was dark outside when May stuck her head into the room and smiled when she saw everyone. "Hey guys, I have to run to the store for some things. I want to make spaghetti tomorrow night, but don't have everything I need to get the sauce ready. Phil is downstairs if you need him." She smiled at them again and left the room.

Skye felt nervous. She didn't want to be left alone without May, but then Natasha sat up and asked her if she could color with her, and that distracted Skye. Trip joined them too and they were all coloring together. It was about 20 minutes later when Phil walked into the room and told Skye that she should get ready for bed.

"How about you go brush your teeth and get cleaned up. I can get a bath ready for you while you go get your pajamas," He motioned for her to go grab her things and then walked out of the room, probably to go get her bath ready.

Skye froze up, and Natasha noticed. She gave her a questioning look, but Skye didn't say anything. Her heart starting beating really fast again and she shot up and walked quickly to her room before Natasha or Trip would notice. Once she got to her room, she grabbed her toothbrush and nightgown, but didn't move towards the bathroom. She was trying to control her breathing and her heart rate.

She didn't take baths. She took really quick showers, but not baths. Not anymore. She had refused to take a bath ever since Foster Family Number 3, the Bedford's. They were really nice to her and Mrs. Bedford always played dolls with her and never, ever yelled. Mr. Bedford worked a lot, but when he was home, he was always good and didn't shout. But, he would help Skye take baths and she didn't start to feel uncomfortable until his hands started lingering longer and longer.

One night, Skye told him that she didn't want to take a bath, she wanted to take a shower instead, and he had yelled at her and told her that she had to take a bath. She didn't know why, but she yelled at him and told him that she really didn't want to, but he had shouted back at her and raised his hand as if he was going to hit her, so she slowly got undressed and went into the bath. The Bedford's gave her back because they had to move away and couldn't afford to take her with them. She tried not to ever take baths after that.

But now, Phil was telling her to take a bath. She knew something had to be wrong with this family; it was too good to be true. She couldn't say no! That would make him angry and then she didn't know if he would hit or yell and May wasn't there to help her. She had to go and take a bath. She felt tears leaking down her cheeks and she shuffled to the bathroom with her toothbrush in one hand and her pajamas in the other.

She walked into the bathroom and stared at the floor.

"Okay Skye, your bath is ready! I put bubbles in-" he trailed off as he looked at the little girl.

Skye was sniffling and staring determinedly at the tiles on the bathroom floor.

"Skye, sweetie, are you alright? What's wrong?" He sounded worried and took a step towards her, but Skye whimpered in fear and backed into the doorway. Her back hit the side of doorway and she pulled her pajamas up towards her chest.

Phil saw her reaction and stayed where he was. "Natasha! Could you come here please?" He didn't shout, but his voice was loud and it prompted Skye to cry harder. She heard Natasha walking down the hallway and felt her slide by Skye and go stand by her dad. Skye slid down to the floor, pulled her knees to her chest, and curled into herself.

"Skye, if you don't want me in here while you take your bath, that's okay. Natasha can stay with you and make sure you're alright." He said it softly, but Skye kept crying. Her heart was beating fast again. She was crying really loudly now, sobbing, and she couldn't catch her breath. She started rocking back and forth.

"I don't want to take a bath. Please, I'll be good. I promise I'll be good. Don't make me, please!" She was still crying and her voice came out louder than she intended. What if they thought she was yelling at them? "I didn't mean it! I'll be good!"

Natasha slowly approached Skye and the little girl let her. She sat down cross legged on the tile in front of Skye.

"Skye it's okay, you don't have to take a bath. Look, dad's draining it right now," Skye looked up and saw that Phil was doing what she said. The water was slowly disappearing and twirling down the drain, but Skye couldn't stop crying.

"Where's May? Is May here?" Skye whimpered.

"Mom isn't back yet, but she should be here soon. You don't have to do anything until she gets here." Natasha kept her voice soft and scooted a little closer.

Skye nodded and kept rocking back and forth. Her breathing and heart beat were still really fast, and she kept crying, but she was starting to feel less panicky. Natasha slowly reached forward and offered Skye her pinky. Skye sniffled and stared at it for a minute before slowly reaching for it and grasping it with her own. They sat like that for a little while before she heard the door open downstairs.

"Hey May, could you come up here please?" Phil said it loud enough for May to hear, and Skye flinched. He shot her an apologetic look and Natasha tightened her pinky around Skye's.

She heard May's voice and sagged in relief. She was still having trouble breathing but she was slowly feeling better. Phil wasn't going to make her take a bath and Natasha's presence was comforting. "Skye? What's wrong? Phil, what happened here?"

May kneeled down and sat next to Natasha on the floor.

"I… I'm actually not sure. Skye saw the bath and started crying. She was asking for you."He spoke softly and quietly and Skye barely heard him. She hesitantly lifted the hand that wasn't attached to Natasha's and put her little palm over May's heart again. She felt it beating steadily and that helped to calm her down. She was able to catch her breath and stop crying.

"Skye, do you want to tell us what happened?" May asked her quietly. Skye looked up and saw Natasha and May looking softly at her and Phil shooting worried glances at her from a little farther away. They all looked nice and they didn't look like they were mad at her. Skye had just freaked out and she thought that they at least deserved to know why.

"I'm sorry. I don't like baths. I'm sorry, he wouldn't stop even though I told him I didn't want to take them. I told him! But he still made me and I don't like them. I don't want to take a bath, please!" She knew she wasn't making much sense, but she didn't know how else to say it. Her eyes starting welling up again and her fist gripped May's shirt tightly.

"It's alright sweetie, you don't have to take a bath. Is it okay if you take a shower instead?" May reached forward and wiped the tears off of Skye's cheek. Instead of flinching away from the touch, she leaned into it.

The little girl sniffled, "Showers are okay."

Natasha untangled their pinkies and Skye slowly unclenched her fist from May's shirt. The older girls waited for Skye to stand up before standing up after her.

"Are you alright now, Skye?" Phil asked her and he sounded concerned.

Skye wiped her hands under her eyes and nodded, "I'm sorry."

"No sweetie, it's alright. I didn't mean to upset you." He smiled kindly at her before walking out of the bathroom.

"Okay, I'll turn the shower on for you. You can shut the curtains, but is it okay if we stay in here and make sure that you're okay?" Skye thought about it for a second. May and Natasha had been nice and calmed her down. They hadn't yelled at her or forced her to take a bath. She knew they wouldn't hurt her.

"Yeah, that's okay.

* * *

Natasha watched the little girl step into the shower and close the curtains quickly behind her. She took a deep breath and looked at her mom. She was staring at the closed curtains with an unreadable expression on her face. Natasha lifted herself so that she could sit on the bathroom counter and her mom sat on the closed toilet lid. They both heard the little girl humming to herself, and it was almost as if she hadn't had a complete meltdown earlier.

She leaned in close to her mom and whispered quietly so that there was no way Skye could hear her over the running water, "Mom, what was she talking about? Did someone force her to take baths?"

Her mom's eyes were still locked on the curtains, but she answered just as quietly, "I think it might've been worse than just forcing her to take baths. Judging from her reaction, something else happened. I'm only telling you this because you saw what happened. Certain things seem to trigger these types of responses and your father and I both want you to be careful and know what to do if that happens. Skye has been through a lot, Tasha. We're not sure what exactly happened to her, but we know that she was abused. You're a beautiful, sweet girl, and I know you would never intentionally do something to upset Skye, but you have to be extra careful around her, at least until she gets used to us."

"Of course mom. She's my little sister. I'll do anything to keep her safe." And she would. When she was younger, she knew that the bad men she was forced to stay with would do things to other little girls. Natasha knew this, but she hadn't been able to stop it and she hadn't been able to protect those girls. She _could_ protect Skye though, and she wouldn't let anyone or anything scare her.

They sat there in silence, waiting for Skye to finish her shower. Natasha couldn't wrap her head around little Skye being abused. She felt herself growing angrier and angrier. How could anyone hurt her? She took a deep breath and did the exercises her parents had taught her that helped her reign in her anger. She started feeling calmer.

She focused back on Skye. She was still humming softly in the shower and Nat grinned a little. "Hey Skye? What are some things that you like?"

There was a pause before the little girl answered. "What do you mean?"

"Well I like dancing, jiu jitsu, and the color red. What do you like?"

There was another pause, this one a little longer than the one before. "I like the moon and the stars."

"Really?" Natasha had expected her to say her favorite t.v. show or her favorite color, so this answer surprised her.

"Yeah well, it... they are pretty and they're always there…and I mean…" Skye was babbling and trying to justify her answer and Natasha felt bad because she knew Skye thought that she thought her answer was stupid.

"No I didn't mean that in a bad way! I just never thought of the moon and the stars as being something that someone liked. It's a great answer Skye. The stars are beautiful, just like you."

Skye didn't say anything, but she did poke her head out from behind the curtain and tell them that she was ready to get out. Her mom reached in and shut the water off. She held up a big, fluffy towel and Skye gently pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped out of the tub. May wrapped the towel around Skye's little body and started rubbing away the excess water. Natasha grabbed Skye's pajamas from where they were left by the doorway and handed them to May, who then gave them to Skye to put on.

Then, an idea came to Natasha. She perked up and bolted out of the bathroom. She ran into her room and started digging through the back of her closet. When she was twelve, she had to do a science fair experiment and ended up doing a research board on the planets. She had used glow-in-the-dark stars to decorate the board and she knew she had tons of extra ones lying around somewhere. She kept searching for them but couldn't find them. She groaned in frustration and ran into Trip's room.

She didn't even bother knocking, she just barged in. Trip was texting someone on his phone and looked up when Natasha ran in. "What's going on, sis?"

"You know when I did that science fair experiment the year you moved in with us? I had like a gazillion extra glow-in-the-dark stars and I can't find them. Do you remember where I put them?"

"What're you gonna do with a bunch of stars, girl?" He asked her, but got up anyway and dug around in the back of _his_ closet. He pulled out a Ziploc bag filled with the stars and handed them to her. "Remember? You gave them to me because I wanted to put some on my walls but never got around to it. What do you need them for?"

"Skye told me she liked the stars and the moon and I thought that we could put these on her wall to make her feel like this is her home too. Wanna come?"

Trip was grinning at her, "Hell yeah I do."

When they walked into Skye's room, the little girl was sitting on her bed and their mom was sitting behind her, gently brushing her wet hair. Skye stayed still when she saw them walk into her room, but their mom smiled at them.

"Skye, I know you said you liked the stars, and so I went and found these. They glow in the dark and can stick to the walls. I thought you might want to put them up?" Natasha asked this casually, but noted how the little girl's eyes lit up with interest.

Her mom was finished brushing Skye's hair and Skye leaned forward, towards Natasha and Trip. "Really? I can put them on my walls?" She twisted around and looked at May. Her mom shrugged and said, "I don't see why not. They'll look pretty cool when the lights are off."

Natasha grinned and walked towards the bed. She tipped the Ziploc bag upside down and let them spill onto the bed. She picked one up, took the plastic off the back of it so that it was sticky, and handed it to Skye. "Okay Skye, put this wherever you want."

The little girl looked at it, then up into Natasha's eyes, and then back at the star. She finally reached up to take it and then glanced around her room. She didn't say anything for a minute and stayed seated, but then she looked up at Natasha and asked, "Can I… can I put them on the ceiling?" Natasha glanced at Trip and saw that he was smiling.

"Girl, that is a great idea. Nat, why didn't we think of that?" Trip took the star that Nat was offering him and peeled off the back. "If I stand on the bed, I can easily reach the ceiling. Where do you want them Skye?" The little girl tilted her head back and considered. She then pointed to a spot on the ceiling and Trip put the star there. They continued on like that, with Natasha handing Trip stars and him placing them where Skye told him to and May silently watching. They had filled up most of the ceiling above Skye's bed when the little girl said that it needed one more.

Nat handed Skye another star and then said, "How about you do the last one, little sis?"

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Skye was momentarily stunned that Natasha had referred to her as her little sister. Then, she grabbed the star and stood up on her bed. She wobbled a little bit, but looked up and saw where she wanted to place the star; right above her head. She stared at the spot and wondered how she was going to get it up there. She was about to jump when Trip's voice stopped her, "Is it okay if I lift you up Skye?"

Skye thought about it. Trip had asked her if it was okay and was giving her a choice. He was smiling at her and had been all day. He hadn't been mean to her once. She nodded at him.

He grabbed her gently around the waist and hoisted her up. He held her so that she was in reach of the ceiling and was dangling in midair. She looked down and saw how high up she was and got a little scared. "I got you girl, go ahead."

She reached above her head and stuck the star onto the ceiling. Trip gingerly lowered her back onto the bed and Skye immediately sat down, wanting to feel lower to the ground. She looked back up at the ceiling and smiled. It was decorated with stars.

May surveyed their work, "It looks really good guys. But, it's this little girl's bed time, so everybody say goodnight."

It was at that moment that Phil wandered into Skye's room. "Wow guys, that looks awesome. Why wasn't I invited to help?" He pretended to look wounded, but when he saw Skye's guilt-ridden face, he quickly smiled and said, "Kidding."

Natasha and Trip both said goodnight and waved at her. Before they left the room, Skye hopped off the bed and ran over to them, "Wait!" They both turned back around and Skye took a step back, "Uh, thank you. I, uh, I really like the stars." She forced herself to not stare at the ground and instead looked into both of her new siblings faces, so that they knew she was telling the truth.

"No problem Skye. I'm glad you like them," Natasha smiled at her and Trip leaned forward and ruffled her hair. She made herself not jerk away and smiled back at them instead. They left the room and Skye walked back to her bed. She hopped onto it, pulled back the covers and snuggled into them. She settled back into the pillows and marveled at how soft and comfy everything felt. She sighed contentedly and looked up to see Phil and May standing on one side of her bed and grinning at her.

"You comfy?" Phil asked her

She nodded and felt her eyelids drooping. It had been a long day, but Skye felt content.

Phil's lips tugged upwards at the sight of the little girl's eyes falling shut against her will, "Perfect. Goodnight Skye."

May leaned in and brushed Skye's hair out of her eyes, "Goodnight sweetie. I'm glad you're here with us."

Skye smiled at that and snuggled further into the covers. On their way out of her room, May and Phil plugged in a night light and then shut the door almost all the way, but left it cracked open.

They didn't hear Skye whisper, "Me too."

Skye felt her eye's shutting and gave into the feeling. The last thing she saw before she fell asleep was the soft, yellow/green glow coming off the stars on her ceiling. She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

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What'd you guys think? Skye seems to be warming up to her new family, doesn't she? I hope you all liked this chapter! If you did, let me know. If you _didn't_ , please tell me what I should be doing differently!

One reviewer, skyedaisy (love your username & I tried to Private Message you back, but it was disabled) asked if Grant Ward could live across the street from them. Yes, Ward will be in this fic. I have big things planned for Ward, and I'll write him in so that he lives across the street from the May-Coulsons (I feel like they would hyphenate, don't you?)

Thank you so much for reading my fic guys, I means a lot to me! xx -Ariel


	6. Chapter 6

**Sooooo, I was really, _really_ bored today and had nothing to do, so I wrote another chapter. Surprise! This one is Phil-centric and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out :)**

 **I hope you guys like it and thank you so much for reading! It honestly surprises me how many people have followed, favorited and reviewed this fic. You guys are awesome. As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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When Skye woke up, it was still dark outside but she knew it was morning. She felt rested and when she rolled over and pulled the sheets further up her body and cuddled closer to her pillows, she noted that everything was dry. She tried to close her eyes, but she couldn't go back to sleep. She rolled onto her back and stared at the stars on her ceiling. She didn't know what this family wanted her to do in the morning. Some of her past families didn't want her to leave her room until everyone was awake, but May and Phil never said what they wanted.

Skye listened carefully to see if maybe she could hear somebody walking around, but she couldn't. She realized that she really had to go to the bathroom, so she got out of bed and poked her head out of her door and looked around the hallway. Everyone's door was shut and the house was dim. She quietly ran to the bathroom and shut the door softly. When she was done, she was creeping back towards her room when she heard singing coming from downstairs. It was male and whoever it was had a _terrible_ voice. Skye walked towards the staircase and put her hands on the banister. She tried to see into the kitchen but couldn't, so she slowly moved down the steps until she could.

She saw Phil rummaging around the kitchen and singing a song that Skye didn't recognize. He was still in his pajamas and had an apron on. The apron looked like the front of a dress and had a bunch of flowers on it. Skye smiled. Phil looked silly.

He was making pancakes and they smelled really good. Drawn to the smell of food, Skye tiptoed down the rest of the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. She hid behind the counter, but Phil was still singing and flipping pancakes, so she peered around the corner. Phil must've got to a really good part in his song, because he grabbed the spatula and used it like a microphone before doing this energetic spin thingy.

Mid-spin, he spotted Skye and immediately stopped, "Oh! Oh, good morning Skye! You're up early." He smiled at her. His cheeks were pink and Skye thought he looked embarrassed.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to stay in my room until everyone else was up… I can go back." Skye started to turn away but Phil's voice stopped her.

"What? No sweetie, you don't have to stay in your room. Are you hungry? I'm making pancakes and it's best to grab them before everyone else wakes up. Trip and Natasha have to leave for school in about an hour, so they should be up very soon." Skye hesitated for only a second before nodding and moving back into the kitchen. She didn't really know what to do, so she awkwardly stood there.

Phil seemed to sense that, "Hey Skye? I want to cut up these strawberries, but these pancakes are almost done. If I pull up a chair for you to stand on, can you help me?"

Skye nodded and Phil smiled again. He pulled over a chair from the dining room and placed it in front of the griddle that the pancakes were cooking on. Skye clambered up onto the chair and Phil handed her the spatula.

By the time the pancakes were done and ready to be taken off the griddle, Phil had finished cutting the strawberries and was standing next to Skye, making sure she didn't accidently burn herself.

"Okay, I'll hold the plate, you scoop up the pancakes and put them on it. Deal?" Phil picked up a plate and held it near Skye. She nodded and very carefully, scooped up a pancake. She slowly slid it onto the plate and smiled. She was proud that she didn't drop it. Phil smiled at her and encouraged her to pick up the rest of the pancakes. When they were done, Phil started pouring more batter onto the griddle.

"How about we make this batch with chocolate chips?" He grabbed a bag of chocolate chips from a cabinet and shook them.

"You can put those in pancakes?" Skye wondered.

"Oh Skye. You are in for a treat. Chocolate chip pancakes will change your life. Here, put some on the pancakes I just poured out." Phil handed her the bag of chocolate chips and Skye gingerly placed a small amount in the pancakes. Phil helped out and put some on the rest.

"Phil! Yours has a smiley face on it!"

"You can have this one Skye. It'll be very happy to be eaten by you." Phil smiled at her and helped her flip the pancakes over.

They were on their last batch when May wandered in, and then Natasha, and finally Trip. Trip looked like he was sleep walking and Skye smiled at how goofy he looked. Natasha and Trip were dressed for school, but May was still in her pajamas. They all mumbled good mornings and May walked over to Phil and kissed him on the cheek before surveying the kitchen.

"We're almost done here. You guys can sit down at the table." Phil shooed May out of the kitchen before she could grab some strawberries. "I'll finish these pancakes Skye. How about you bring the bowl of strawberries to the table?"

"Okay." Skye jumped off the chair and carefully grabbed the bowl Phil handed to her. It was made of glass, so Skye made sure to walk extra carefully to the table. She set it down and climbed up into a chair. Phil came in with a huge plate of pancakes and a pitcher of orange juice. When he set them down, everybody dug in.

Skye couldn't reach anything, so she just waited. Trip noticed and grabbed a plate of pancakes and strawberries for her. He pushed the maple syrup her way and she poured some over her plate after thanking him. Her first bite of the pancakes was magical. She didn't know pancakes could taste this good! She happily ate while everyone else talked about their plans for the day. Natasha was saying that she had to do a group project for history and she was lucky enough to have her best friends in her group. Trip was asking Phil if he could go to the movies with his friends tonight. May was reminding Natasha about her dance recital coming up and asked if she was practicing. And Skye was content to just sit there and listen.

Suddenly Trip glanced at his phone and shot up out of his chair, "Nat, we gotta go. Hunter should be here any minute!" They both scooted away from the table and grabbed their bags from the floor.

"You tell Hunter to drive safely okay? I have no idea how that boy got his license but I'm a nervous wreck whenever he's driving you guys anywhere," Skye couldn't tell if May was joking or being serious.

"Mom, Hunter's not _that_ bad," Trip admonished.

"Yeah mom, he's only half as bad as you think he is," Natasha grinned and then looked at Skye, "Do you wanna go to the playground when we get back? It's right down the street and we can walk there." Skye loved playgrounds, but she didn't know if she wanted to go anywhere without May. She could get lost or left behind, but she didn't want to say no to Natasha so she nodded.

Natasha smiled at her, said goodbye and then they were both out the door.

"And then there were three." Phil said as he started gathering everyone's plates. May got up to help but Phil told her that he had it covered.

May looked over at Skye, "I forgot to ask how you slept last night sweetie. Were you okay?"

Skye nodded at her, "I slept good. My bed is real comfy May,"

May grinned in response, "I'm glad you like it. Phil looks like he has everything covered here so I'm going to go take a quick shower. Do you want to watch some t.v.?"

When Skye nodded at her again, May lead the little girl into the living room and had her sit on the couch. May turned it on so that it was playing Spongebob and made sure Skye was comfy before heading upstairs to shower.

Skye was smiling at Spongebob's silly antics when the show cut to a commercial. The commercials were boring, so she stood up and started looking around the room. There were pictures all over the place in here. In one, Natasha was younger and doing ballet. Her face was focused and she looked beautiful. Skye wished she looked like Natasha. She moved on.

There were pictures of Trip holding a fishing pole, Natasha staring intensely at the camera, May and Phil on their wedding day, and some with all of them together. Skye was looking at a picture that was standing on the table at the end of the couch. It was of May and Phil with two younger people in between them. They looked like brother and sister and they weren't smiling, just staring intensely at the camera, but they looked like they were happy. The boy had light blonde hair, it actually almost looked white, and his arm was thrown around the girls shoulder. The girl was beautiful; she had long, dark hair and wore a black dress. Skye really liked her red jacket, it made her look like a rock star. This picture was more formal than the other ones, but Skye could tell that everyone in it felt comfortable around each other and happy. Skye wondered who these two were.

Skye reached forward to trace the girl's face in the picture, but she accidently knocked it over and it crashed to the floor. The picture frame shattered and glass flew everywhere. Skye's eyes widened and she let out a yelp. Oh no. She broke it! She broke Phil and May's picture and they would be mad at her and yell at her and send her back. She didn't want to go back so soon! She really liked it here and wanted to stay! Maybe if she picked it up, they wouldn't notice. She reached down and started picking up the glass. She was grabbing a particularly large piece when it cut her finger. It wasn't big, but it instantly started bleeding. Skye hissed in pain, stuck her finger in her mouth, and kept picking up pieces of glass.

"Skye, I thought I heard something break. Are you okay?" Phil walked into the living room and took in the situation. Skye stood up ramrod straight and yanked her injured finger out of her mouth and hid it behind her back. The glass that she had managed to pick up slipped from her grasp and fell back to the floor.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break it! I was just looking and it fell down and I was trying to pick it back up! I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry." She was crying now.

Phil took a step towards her and she made a move to step back, but Phil stopped her, "No Skye, please don't move! I don't want you to step on any glass and cut your feet." Skye stopped her retreat and Phil approached her. He didn't look mad, just worried, but Skye wasn't sure if he was pretending or not.

"I'm going to pick you up okay? There's glass all around your feet and it's not safe. Is that alright?" Skye looked at the ground and he was right. There _was_ glass everywhere and she was getting scared. Her finger was hurting, tears were leaking down her cheeks, and she didn't know what Phil was going to do. She nodded at him and lifted her arms and he reached forward and picked her up. Skye was stiff in his arms and he set her back down on the couch and told her to wait there. He exited the room and returned with a broom in hand.

Skye was still crying as she watched Phil sweep up the glass. He hadn't yelled, but he might later. He was probably going to send her back to the orphanage. She'd only been here a day and she had already broken their things and cried _twice_. She forced herself to stop crying. Her finger was still hurting, so she put it back in her mouth.

Phil finished cleaning up and put everything away. He walked up to Skye, "Are you okay?"

Skye nodded, even though her finger still hurt and she could taste blood.

Phil zoned in on her finger and looked concerned, "What happened to your finger, Skye?"

She shrugged and didn't say anything. She didn't want Phil to have to help her _again._ She was being annoying and she could find a bandaid to put on it later.

"Can I see your finger please?" Phil asked. Skye hesitated. Phil noticed and held his hands up in a gentle, placating manner. "I'm not mad at you Skye, I just want to see if you're hurt."

Phil sounded sincere and he looked worried for her. She made the decision to trust him and she hoped she didn't regret it. She took her finger out of her mouth and showed it to Phil.

Skye heard him suck in a breath when he saw that cut. It wasn't too big, but it was still bleeding. "Skye! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? Come here sweetie, let's get this cleaned up." He ushered her off the couch and towards the kitchen.

"Can I put you on the counter?"

Skye nodded and Phil lifted her up and set her by the sink. He turned on the water and instructed her to hold her finger under it. She did as she was told and watched as he grabbed some bandaids, gauze, and a tube from the cabinet over the refrigerator. He gently reached for her hand and pulled out from under the stream of water. After shutting the sink off, he used to gauze to wipe the water and blood away from her finger. He then put pressure over the cut and looked at Skye.

"The pressure should stop the bleeding. You should be okay sweetie. Nothing a bandaid can't fix." He was smiling at her and he didn't look mad.

Skye had to be sure though, "Are you going to take me back to St. Agnes'?" She was staring at her thighs as she asked. She didn't want to see his face when he said yes.

"Skye, please look at me." She looked up and he was staring at her earnestly, "We're _never_ taking you back there, okay? When we told you that we wanted you to be a part of our family, we meant it. In this family, we _never_ turn our backs on each other. So you could break every single picture in this whole house and we still wouldn't take you back. You're going to stay here for as long as you want. Understand?"

Skye _didn't_ understand. Well, she understood the words that he had said, but she didn't understand the meaning behind them. They wanted her… forever? She didn't believe him.

"I can see that you're doubting me, but we'll prove it to you. We all want you to be a part of this family Skye, so whether you believe me or not, we're not going to give up on you."

He smiled kindly at her and then took the gauze off of her finger and inspected the cut. He seemed satisfied with what he was looking at and grabbed the tube from the counter. He took the top off of the tube and squeezed it so that clear gel came out of it. He gently placed some of the gel over her cut and wiped his hand off. He then grabbed something else from the counter and held it behind his back.

"Okay Skye, this is a very serious question… do you want a Spongebob bandaid or a Rapunzel bandaid?" He whipped the bandaids out from behind his back and held them in front of Skye so that she could see them. She pointed at the princess one and he unwrapped it and carefully put it on her finger, "good as new!"

Skye was feeling much better. Phil hadn't yelled at her or hit her. He had been nice and fixed her finger. She felt a little embarrassed for crying earlier, but Phil hadn't said anything about that either. Phil was good.

"Thanks, Phil," she said it quietly, but he still heard her.

"Anytime pumpkin, that's what I'm here for. Next time though, please tell me when you're hurt."

She nodded at him.

"I'm going to get you off the counter now, is that okay?"

She nodded again and lifted her arms. As Phil set her down, May walked into the kitchen. Her hair was still damp, but she was dressed in her normal clothes.

"What'd I miss?"

Phil glanced at Skye before saying, "Skye had a little accident and cut her finger. Everything's alright though." As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang. He answered it and moved into the living room to talk.

May walked towards Skye, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Skye held up her bandaged finger as a response and May made a sympathetic noise, "Oh no, does it hurt?"

Skye shook her head and said, "It did, but Phil fixed me."

May grinned at that. She was about to say something else when Phil walked into the room, "I'm so sorry guys, but they need me down at the hospital."

May's eyebrows rose, "I thought they gave you the week of?"

"They did, but there was a bad accident on the highway and it's all hands on deck. I shouldn't be there for too long, but they wouldn't have called if it wasn't important."

May nodded at him and told him it was fine. He ran upstairs, got dressed in an impressive amount of time, and then ran out the door after kissing May on the cheek and saying goodbye to Skye.

"I guess it's just you and me, kiddo."

It was a while later and May and Skye were sitting on the front porch. The older woman was swinging on the porch swing and reading a book. Skye was lying on the ground coloring.

"Hey May? When am I going to go to school?" Skye looked up at May and noted how she stopped swinging and looked back at the little girl.

"We actually wanted to talk to you about that. Since we live in another district, you're going to have to start a new school." May said it kindly, but Skye still felt sad. She _liked_ school. It wasn't fun all of the time, but it was where she could go and live normally, like other kids. She had friends at her old school and she liked her first grade teacher.

When Skye said nothing, May continued, "I'm sorry sweetie, but your old school is too far away. We thought we'd give you today to adjust, go into the school and make sure you're registered as a student tomorrow, and then you'd start on Thursday. How does that sound?"

Skye didn't really want to change schools, but she knew she really didn't have that much of a choice. So, she dejectedly said, "okay," and went back to coloring, effectively ending the conversation.

About a half hour later, a car stopped on the side of their street, right in front of the house. It had on loud music and Skye scooted closer to May. The backdoor and passenger door flew open and Natasha and Trip emerged from the vehicle. They were laughing and Trip leaned down and said something to the driver.

The driver had brown hair and brown eyes and was smiling. He turned down the music, leaned out of his window and shouted, "Hey May! How are you doing?" His voice was deep and he said his words funny.

"I'm great Hunter. Tell your parents I said hi, will you?" May was smiling fondly at the guy.

He put his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute and said, "Will do," before driving away.

Trip and Natasha walked up the walkway and stopped on the porch. They both stooped down to give their mom a kiss on the cheek and then said hello to Skye.

"So Skye, are you ready to go to the playground? I've been looking forward to it all day." Natasha sat down on the ground next to Skye and smiled at her. Trip did the same and they both flung their backpacks to the side.

Skye still wasn't sure about going to the playground without May. She looked up to the older woman and May smiled encouragingly at her, so she looked back towards Natasha and nodded.

"Great! My friends are coming over later to work on our history project, so we should go now so you can play for a bit before we have to leave." She paused, "Oh yeah, mom, I forgot to ask. Is it okay if my friends come over later?"

May rolled her eyes but said that it was fine.

"Trip, you wanna come too?"

"Anything to put off doing this math homework. I don't care what anyone says, trigonometry is _hard_." He smiled and they all stood up.

Trip and Natasha started walking down the porch stairs and Skye took one last look at May. The older woman gave her a thumbs up, "Go have fun sweetie. If you need me, have Natasha or Trip call me. I can get there really fast if you need me to," Skye nodded and followed her older siblings.

"Skye, you are going to love this playground. It has _everything."_ Trip was talking excitedly and Skye was trying to look like she was interested, but in reality, she felt like she was going to throw up. They were walking down the street and Skye kept looking back towards May until she couldn't see her anymore.

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What do you think? I bet you guys can guess the two people in the picture. I _promise_ that Fitzsimmons will be making an appearance soon. The little boy that I nanny is still really sick, so I have tomorrow off too. If tomorrow was as boring as today, then I'll probably have a new chapter up soon :)

Please let me know what you guys think! I love reading what you have to say! It means so much to me that you guys are taking the time to tell me what you think. Thank you for being you, you amazing readers! xx -Ariel


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Today was super boring again. I miss working. Anyways, here's the new chapter! I'm introducing quite a few new characters in this one and I hope you like it!**

 **Please let me know what you think! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading! xx**

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Skye's tummy felt like it was full of butterflies and she was nervous about being so far away from May. She kept reminding herself that Natasha and Trip were good. They hadn't been mean to her and they told her that they wanted her to be here with them. Trip was still talking about the playground and the play structures that it had, but Natasha seemed to sense that Skye was feeling nervous, so she offered the little girl her pinky. Skye gratefully took it and tried to focus on what Trip was saying.

Skye could see the playground approaching. It _was_ pretty awesome. It looked like a really big wooden castle and had slides and monkey bars coming out of it. There was a big swing set next to it, and a bridge, made of tires, that was connected to the big castle. It had a wooden seesaw, a whirl-a-round, and a funky, geometric dome. It was the coolest playground Skye had ever seen and she was excited to play on it. There was a few other kids climbing around the play structures, but Skye was focused on the swings.

They finally made it to the playground, but Skye was reluctant let go of Natasha's hand. She didn't want to walk away from them and have them leave her here.

"Here we are Skye. You wanna go play?" Trip still sounded really excited even though he was big and probably wouldn't be able to climb around the castle. Older kids were weird.

"If I go play, you guys won't leave me right?" Skye sounded unsure of herself and looked at the ground as she said it.

"Yes, of course we'll still be here Skye," Natasha answered her and tightened her hold on Skye's pinky to reassure her. That made Skye feel a little better. They hadn't lied to her yet, so she nodded.

"Actually, Trip, you wanna go on the seesaws? I haven't been on one in _forever._ " Natasha was smiling happily.

"I haven't been on one in a while. Let's do this," he smiled at Skye and walked over to the seesaws.

"What're you gonna do Skye?"

"I think… I wanna go on the swings?" She phrased it as a question and grinned a little when Natasha nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds fun! And look, you can see us from the swing set. If you need us, we'll be over here okay?"

Skye nodded again and felt Natasha untangle their pinkies. She watched the older girl make her way towards the seesaw where Trip was waiting for her, and then made her own way to the swing sets. No one else was using them, so she chose the one on the end. She hopped up on the seat and started swinging slowly. She didn't try to go too far up, because she was afraid she would fall off, but it was still really fun.

She had been swinging for a couple of minutes before she heard two kids bickering to her right. She looked over and saw a boy and a girl her age digging in the sand and tugging a plastic shovel between them.

"Fitz! You got to use it yesterday, it's my turn remember?"

"No! _You_ used it yesterday, it's _my_ turn today!"

Both of them said their words funny. Skye slowed down and came to a stop on her swing. She stared at the two kids. Even though they were fighting, they were smiling at each other and looked like they were having fun. Maybe they wouldn't mind if Skye played with them? She carefully got off the swing and made her way over to them. They were still bickering as she approached.

When they spotted Skye, they stopped and stared at her. Skye didn't really know what to say, but she was saved when the girl opened her mouth and spoke instead, "Hi! Do you want to play with us?"

Wow. That was easy.

Skye smiled and nodded. She kneeled down in the sand next to them and watched as the boy stole the plastic shovel from the girls hand and grinned triumphantly. The girl just rolled her eyes and smiled at Skye. She pointed at the boy, "That's Fitz. He's usually nicer than this."

Fitz gave her a stern look but pointed at the girl and said, "That's Simmons. Well, her name is actually Jemma, but I call her Simmons. Hey, why do I call you Simmons, Simmons?"

Jemma didn't bother answering him but continued to stare at Skye. The little girl wondered why until she remembered that she hadn't told them her name.

"Oh! My name's Skye."

"That's a cool name! Fitz, isn't that a cool name?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool Simmons."

"We were trying to build this sandcastle to look like the playground. Wanna help?"

Skye nodded again and the three of them started digging. Fitz was surprisingly good at it and Jemma mostly provided little shells and leaves that they could use to decorate the sandcastle, but no one minded. Skye was having fun. These two were really nice and maybe they could be friends.

She softly said, "So… do you guys go to school here?" She kept her eyes focused on her hands, which were currently trying to sculpt the sand into looking like the seesaws. She wasn't doing a very good job.

She heard Fitz answer her, "Yeah! We're in Ms. Hill's first grade class! We've never seen you before, do you go to school here?"

Skye still wasn't happy about having to change schools, but maybe if she was put in the same class as these two, it wouldn't be so bad. "I'm new here, but I'm supposed to start school on Thursday."

"Cool! Maybe you'll be in our class!" Jemma was smiling brightly at her.

They went back to digging and Skye couldn't stop from grinning. She just made two friends and it hadn't even been hard!

They were almost done with their sandcastle when Skye heard someone calling Simmon's name.

"Oh! We have to go Fitz! We'll see you later Skye!"

"Yeah Skye, we'll see you later!"

They both waved at her as they ran towards the woman who was calling them. Skye waved back at them and went back to the swings. She was thinking about her new friends when she heard someone say, "Hey, get off. I want to use that swing."

She looked up and there was a boy standing in front of her. He looked like he was a little older than she was and he didn't look very nice. Skye slowed her swing down to a stop. She wasn't going to let some bully scare her. Jonathan was bigger than this kid and she _never_ backed down from a fight with him.

"No, I'm swinging on this one. There's an empty swing down there." She tried to start swinging again, but the kid's hand shot out and grabbed the swing's chain and wouldn't let her move.

"Too bad. I want this one, so _give it to me_." The boy puffed out his chest and tried to look bigger.  
Skye could feel herself growing angrier. No one else was using the swings and there was a bunch of open ones. Why was he trying to steal hers?

She hopped off the swing, but stood in front of it so the boy couldn't get on. "If you don't want to use another one, you can use this one when I'm done! But I'm not done yet, so wait your turn!"

She saw the boy's face get angrier. He looked like he was about to push her when Skye heard a voice speak up from behind her, "Is everything okay here Skye?"

She looked back and saw Natasha and Trip standing behind her. She instantly felt better. When she looked back to the boy, she saw that there was an older boy standing behind him. Where did he come from? They both looked kind of similar and Skye guessed that they were brothers. The older boy looked way scarier than the younger boy, and he was staring menacingly at Skye.

The older boy put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder and squeezed. She saw the younger one wince, but he didn't say anything. When the older boy spoke, his voice sounded like a growl, "Yeah, there's a problem here. This kid won't let my little brother use the swing."

Natasha took a step forward so that she was standing right next to Skye, "Oh really? Because from what I saw, your little brother was messing with _my_ little sister for no reason. If he wants to swing, he can use that one over there." She crossed her arms over her chest and didn't back down when the older kid stepped towards her.

Natasha might not have been scared, but Skye sure was. The older boy was big and he looked really mean. He had the same look in his eyes that Mr. Ramsey always had when he was about to do something scary. Skye took a step back and accidently bumped into Trip. He smiled reassuringly at her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

The older boy wasn't backing down, "If my brother wants to play on this swing, then your little _brat_ should let him."

When he said that, Natasha took a step closer and uncrossed her arms. Skye couldn't see her face, but from the way she was standing, Skye could tell Natasha was getting angry. Natasha's hands curled into fists and when she spoke, it was quiet and she was saying her words differently, like she had an accent. Skye thought that it was scarier than if she would have shouted.

"Listen here, I won't let you or your little brother bully my sister. If you have a problem, you're going to have to take it up with me and my brother here, understand?"

The older boy eye's flicked up and glanced at Trip. His eye's momentarily landed on Skye and he sneered at her. Skye backed up farther into Trip's legs. She was scared that the boy would actually fight Natasha and it would be all her fault. She didn't want Natasha or Trip to get hurt because of her. She whimpered. Trip surprised her by quickly lifting her up and setting her on his hip. He was gentle, and even though his action shocked Skye, it helped to reassure her. From up here, the boy didn't look as tall and imposing as he did before.

The older boy sized Trip and Natasha up. He seemed to relent, but didn't want to look like he was giving up, "The swings are stupid anyways. Come on Grant, let's go," he squeezed the little boys shoulder again and Skye could see that it hurt. The little boy didn't say anything, just winced again and let himself get led away by his older brother.

Skye watched them go. They walked right out of the playground and headed down the street. When she looked back, Natasha was taking deep breaths and had turned around so that she was looking at Skye. She walked up to her and looked her over, as if looking for any injuries.

She took in Skye, who was still clinging to Trip's neck, and seemed to note that she was fine, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Skye shook her head. She wasn't hurt, but she felt really guilty. She had almost made Natasha and Trip get into a fight because of her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for anything bad to happen., I-" Skye was mumbling, but Natasha cut her off, "This wasn't your fault маленькая звезда. That kid was picking on you and you stood up for yourself."

"Yeah… but you almost got in a fight." Skye was still mumbling, but Natasha didn't look mad at her, she was smiling gently instead.

"Listen Skye, we're family now, and family takes care of family. I _wanted_ to protect you and stand up for you. Trip did too. And anyways, that guy wasn't going to actually fight. He was all talk."

Skye felt Trip nod and started to feel better.

They were a family. Families looked out for one another. Natasha and Trip wanted to protect Skye. She felt her eyes starting to well up, not because she was scared, but because she was happy. They had said they wanted Skye to be a part of their family, but Skye didn't really believe it until now. Her other foster siblings had never really stood up for her before, they were more likely to be the ones picking on her. She'd never had a _real_ brother and sister, but now that she knew that this was what it was like to have some, she never wanted to go without them again. She felt protected and safe and cared for.

Trip was still holding her to him, he was swaying gently from side to side, and Natasha was still smiling at her. Skye smiled back. She didn't really know what to say, but they didn't seem to mind.

Trip jostled her a little bit so that she looked at him, "How about you come play with us? We were gonna go on the monkey bars."

Skye nodded and Trip set her down and they made their way to the monkey bars.

When Natasha said that they should head back home, it was starting to get dark and Skye was tired from running around. Trip had been chasing her through the castle and she was grinning. He kept hitting his head because he was too tall, but he didn't slow down. When Natasha shouted at them that it was time to go, Skye actually felt a little relieved. She was getting tired and her feet were starting to hurt because her shoes weren't really that good.

They started walking back home. Natasha and Trip were laughing and talking about something that was going on at school and Skye was shuffling behind them, moving at a slower pace. All of a sudden, Natasha's phone rang.

She answered it, "Hello?"

She listened to what the person on the other end had to say before telling them that they would be home soon and hanging up.

"That was mom. My friends came over earlier than I expected, let's go guys."

They started walking faster, and since Skye was struggling to keep up before, she lagged further behind. Natasha looked back, saw, and slowed down. When Skye caught up, she asked, "You feeling tired, маленькая звезда?"

When Skye nodded, Natasha bent down in front of her, "Hop on."

When Skye didn't move, Natasha glanced back at her and smiled, "Come on. I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Skye had no idea what that was. "What's a piggyback ride?"

Trip turned to look at her, "Girl, what have you been doing? Piggyback rides are probably the only good thing that comes out of being small. Hop on Natasha's back and she'll carry you home."

When Skye still looked unsure, Natasha encouraged her to wrap her arms around the older girl's neck and her legs around her waist. Skye did as she was told and when Natasha stood up, she let out a yelp. Natasha laughed and asked if she was okay, Skye nodded and felt Natasha's hands reach out and grab her thighs so that she could hold her up. They started walking back towards the house.

"Natasha?" The older girl hummed in response, so Skye continued, "What does that word mean?"

"It means 'little star'. I don't have to call you that if you don't like it." She sounded unsure of herself but Skye quickly reassured her, "No! I mean no, I like it. You can call me that." Skye smiled but Natasha couldn't see and that was okay.

Trip and Natasha started talking again and Skye felt her eyes grow heavy. Natasha's gentle steps were lulling her to sleep and Skye couldn't stop her head from falling to rest on Natasha's shoulder. Her eyes fell shut.

Skye was in the weird space between sleeping and consciousness when she felt Natasha walk up the front porch steps and open the door to their home. She groggily lifted her head. When they stepped into the living room, Skye saw a group of boys sitting on the couch talking to May. She crinkled her nose. Who were these people?

When the group saw Natasha and Trip, they shot up and started walking towards them, loudly saying hello and smiling. They looked friendly, but they were all pretty big. Skye froze and wiggled around so that Natasha would set her on the ground. Natasha obliged and Skye instantly hid behind her legs.

She heard Natasha say hello to all the boys. She was laughing and sounded happy, so they must be the friends that she was talking about. If they were Natasha's friends, then they couldn't be that bad, but Skye didn't trust them enough to talk to them.

She heard a deep voice say, "Nat, I remember you saying that you had a new little sister. Is that the little princess that just ran behind your legs?"

Well. She had always _wanted_ to be a princess.

She peered around Nat's legs and looked up, up, up towards the three boys. They were all smiling at her. She didn't say anything.

The same guy spoke again, "Nat, why didn't you tell us you had a princess for a sister?" He got down on one knee in front of her and bowed. He looked silly. "You're Majesty, my name's Clint. It's an honor to meet you." He was kneeling. Skye smiled. She looked up at Natasha and the older girl was smiling too.

Clint looked up and winked at Skye. He then stood up and introduced the two other boys. He pointed at the blonde one, "This is Steve," and then he pointed at the dark haired one, "and this is Bucky."

The blonde spoke as May made her way over to the group, "It's a pleasure to meet you Skye." He smiled at her and the Bucky nodded.

They all seemed nice, so she shyly waved at them before running over to May.

"Mom, we're gonna work on our project in the living room. Is it okay of they stay for dinner?"

May grinned, "These three are always welcome to stay for dinner."

The boys all thanked May and then let themselves be led away by Natasha.

May kneeled down in front of Skye, "Did you have fun at the playground?" Skye nodded at her and smiled. She really did have a lot of fun with Trip and Natasha.

"You're pretty dirty sweetie, how about you take a shower and then you can help me get dinner ready?" Skye nodded again. She liked helping Phil cook breakfast and she was eager to help again. May ushered her up the stairs and grabbed a pair of pajamas from Skye's room before leading her into the bathroom. May turned the water on and Skye stepped into the tub and shut the curtains. She was washing her hair when she heard May call her name.

"Yeah?" She tried to rinse away the shampoo without getting any in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut.

She heard May reply, "I was thinking, after we go to your school tomorrow to sign you up, how about we steal Natasha away from her school and go shopping together, just the three of us?"

Skye paused before she answered. She didn't want May to buy her things that she didn't need. She _had_ clothes. They weren't the best and they fit weirdly, but they worked.

"Um, you don't have to take me shopping May, that's okay."

"Skye, we _want_ to buy you clothes. It'll make us happy to buy you new things, okay? You don't have to feel bad because this is something we want to do, alright? May's voice was kind and she sounded like she really meant it, so Skye relented and agreed.

"Great! Are you ready to get out?" When Skye said yes, she saw May's hand reach through the curtain and shut the water off. Skye pulled the curtain out of the way and stepped into the towel May was holding out for her. May helped her dry off and get dressed. After May brushed her hair, they made their way to the kitchen.

Skye watched as May pulled a chair up to the stovetop and told her that she could help stir the noodles. She climbed onto the chair and carefully stirred. The spaghetti sauce was already ready and May was putting the garlic bread into the oven.

Skye could hear Natasha laughing in the living room and hoped she was having fun.

The garlic bread was almost done and May left the kitchen to go add more chairs to the dining room table. She came back towards Skye and took the pot full of noodles over to the sink to drain the water out. Skye climbed off the chair and heard May tell everyone that dinner was ready. Phil still hadn't come back from the hospital, so May made a plate for him and put it in the fridge.

She helped May bring the food to the table and saw everyone else starting to sit down. The seats filled up and she ended up between May and Bucky. May helped her fill her plate with food and then everyone dug in. She was trying and failing to get the spaghetti into her mouth rather than on the napkin in her lap. She looked over when she saw something strange.

She was looking at Bucky's left arm. When she looked closer, she saw that it wasn't a real arm, it was plastic. She glanced up and saw that he was staring at her. He didn't look mad that Skye had been ogling his fake arm, instead he just grinned at her.

"Why does your arm look like that?" Skye couldn't believe she said that. What if she hurt his feelings? Skye didn't like it when other people commented on how small she was, and she bet Bucky didn't like it when people talked about his arm.

She was about to apologize when Bucky answered, "When I was about your age, I was in a car accident. Everyone else was okay, but I lost my arm. They gave me this fake one instead." He didn't sound mad that Skye was asking about his arm.

She felt sympathy and sadness flash through her. If his car accident was anything like the one she had been in, she knew how bad that was.

He didn't look sad. He had said what happened in a pretty matter-of-fact tone, but he could be faking it, so Skye wanted to reassure him, "I'm sorry. I was in a car accident too." She felt her throat start to close, so she couldn't say any more.

She felt May run a hand comfortingly down her back and saw Bucky give her a sympathetic look, "Car accidents are really scary and I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Now Bucky was trying to make _her_ feel better. He was being really kind and it made her feel better. Her throat stopped feeling so tight. It was nice to know that someone else understood what she had been through. It probably wasn't _his_ fault that he got in the car accident though, but it _was_ Skye's fault that she had been in hers.

"Does it hurt?"

"It feels achey sometimes, but other than that, I barely notice that it's there. Do you want to touch it?"

Skye didn't know why, but she kind of did, so she nodded and he brought his arm closer to her. It was flesh colored and looked pretty normal. She touched where his forearm would be, and it was cool rather than warm.

"Check this out," there was a whirring sound and then his hand started moving.

"Woah! That's pretty cool." Skye admired his hand some more, "I like it."

Bucky smiled at her, "I'm glad you like it Skye."

After that, they all went back to eating their dinner. When they were done, the group went back into the living room to work on their project and May told Skye that it was bedtime. May followed Skye upstairs and into her room. Skye jumped onto her bed and May pulled the covers up and over her body.

"Did you have a good day today?" May asked

Skye didn't even have to think about it before answering, "Yes."

May smiled at her and leaned forward to brush Skye's hair out of her eyes.

"Good. Goodnight sweetie. Sweet dreams," May whispered it and leaned back to smile at Skye.

"G'night May." Skye snuggled deeper into her pillows and heard May walk out the door.

* * *

How did you guys like it? For real though, I am so in love with Bucky and his metal arm. Like... metal arms shouldn't be something I'm attracted to, but I am...is that weird?

Anyways, leave me a comment and tell me what you thought. Who did you like the best in this chapter? I think Clint was my favorite. He was so cute with little Skye :) Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Someone asked and I just wanted to clarify: In this fic, Skye is 6, Natasha is 14 and Trip is 16.**

 **Tegosaurus asked if I could go into a little more detail about Skye's accident and I had fun writing about it, so I hope I did you proud!**

 **The section written in italics is a dream.**

 **I hope you all like this chapter! I think it's one of my favorites, but I'm a little biased :) Also, I just really enjoy writing from Nat's POV. As always, I don't own anything (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

* * *

 _Skye could smell smoke and the sound of twisting metal and breaking glass was still resonating in her ears. She remembered the car swerving into them and their car rolling over twice before landing upright in the ditch. Her head hurt really badly from where it had banged against the side of her car seat and her arm was bleeding. She thinks that flying glass had cut it while they were rolling, but she wasn't sure. Her whole body was hurting and she groaned._

 _She squeezed her eyes shut and cradled her head in her hands until her ears stopped ringing. She gingerly opened her eyes and lowered her hands. She looked out her window and saw the car that hit them. It was mangled and the front bumper was lying on the ground. Glass was everywhere and she saw smoke coming from the front of it. Through the smoke, she saw the drivers head lolling to the side. She couldn't tell if he was alive or not, but she was getting really scared. She started crying._

 _She looked to the front seat, to see if Mr. and Mrs. Harvey were okay. She saw Mrs. Harvey first. She was easy to spot. Her head was twisted around and facing Skye at an unnatural angle. She saw blood trickling down her face and turning her blonde hair red. Her eyes were closed and Skye couldn't see her chest moving._

 _"Mrs. Harvey? Are you okay?" She didn't answer._

 _Skye was getting hysterical now. She looked towards Mr. Harvey and saw that his head was resting against the steering wheel. His arm was flung over the center console and Skye screamed when she saw a bone sticking out of it._

 _She whimpered, "Mr. Harvey? Mr. Harvey are you awake?"_

 _They weren't answering her. She struggled to get out of her car seat but she couldn't undo the buckles or straps. She thrashed from left to right but that didn't help at all._

 _She was screaming now, "Please! Get up! Mom! Dad! You have to wake up! Please!"_

 _They didn't respond, and Skye continued to scream for what felt like forever until she heard sirens getting closer and closer._

When Skye woke up, her cheeks were wet and she realized that she was crying. She cried for a little while, making sure to be quiet so that no one would hear her, before forcing herself to stop. She felt extreme relief when she shifted and felt that her sheets were still dry. She couldn't fall back asleep, not after that, so she got out of bed and turned on her pink lamp. She sat down by her dollhouse and played with the dolls, trying to keep her mind off of her nightmare until she heard Phil walk past her door and downstairs to get breakfast ready.

She quickly followed him and helped him make breakfast again. It got her mind off of her nightmare and she liked helping. Today, they made toast and parfaits. When they were done and everyone else had wandered downstairs, they all sat around the table and talked as they ate.

"So Nat, are you okay with us picking you up from school a little early? We've got some shopping to do." May grinned conspiratorially at Skye as she asked Natasha.

Natasha gave her mom an incredulous look, "Seriously mom? You're asking if you could pick me up from school early. Would I ever say no to that?"

May chuckled, "Alright, point taken."

Trip pointed out that Hunter would be there soon to pick them up and so he and Natasha both hopped up and ran out the door after saying goodbye.

"Alright Skye, I'm going to take a shower. How about you go get dressed and when I get out, we'll head over to your new school?" May reached over and handed Skye a napkin and motioned that she had something on her face.

Skye wiped her face before replying, "Yeah, okay." She tried to seem like she was excited, but she didn't think she fooled anyone. Phil was shooting her worried glances and May looked skeptical.

She put her plate in the sink and ran upstairs to her room. She tugged on one of her two dresses and ran a brush through her hair. She heard May turn on the shower and sighed. She sat down at her desk and pulled out some crayons and paper from the drawer.

She was absentmindedly playing coloring and thinking about her new school, forcing herself to ignore her nightmare. She had liked her old school and teacher. She had even managed to make a few friends so that she had people to play with on the playground and eat with at lunch. She didn't want to go to a new school where she didn't know anyone. It was scary and the more she thought about it, the more butterflies she felt collecting in her tummy.

When May walked in, freshly showered and in a blouse and nice looking pair of slacks, Skye was a nervous wreck. She took May's offered pinky, said goodbye to Phil, and walked outside. She stopped when she saw the car. She didn't know if she could get into it after her nightmare. Skye wished she didn't feel like this. She wished she could just get into a car without having trouble breathing.

Before she could start freaking out, May kneeled down beside her, "Skye, I know you're really afraid to go into the car. It might help if you tell me what you're scared of?"

Skye didn't think that would help at all, but May was smiling kindly at her, so she answered, "I'm scared that a car is going to hit us and you'll die."

A traitorous tear escaped and before Skye could wipe it away, May leaned forward and caressed her check. Skye leaned into her touch and looked at May's sympathetic face.

May continued to stroke her cheek and kept her voice gentle, "That's a scary thought Skye, and I can see why you would be worried. Unfortunately, a car accident could happen to anyone, and I can't guarantee that it won't, but I can guarantee this: I will do everything in my power to keep _everyone_ safe, including you." Skye nodded and May continued, "I know you're scared baby, but I also know you're really brave," when Skye started to shake her head, May argued, "No, you are Skye. You want to know how I know this? You took a chance living with us. You didn't know us, but you decided to come and live with us anyways. You've been through so much and yet here you are, smiling and running around. I'm so proud of you. You're an inspiration Skye."

Skye was full on crying now. No one had said such nice things about her. No one had called her brave before. May was proud of _her._ May was nice. May helped her when she was crying and couldn't breathe. She didn't yell at her or call her stupid or push her down. She talked to her like she was a real person and gave her choices. Skye liked May, and even though she told herself not to, she found herself trusting her. Even with that sudden realization, she still surprised even herself when she stepped forward and flung her arms around May's neck.

May obviously hadn't been expecting that because she almost fell over with the force of little Skye plowing into her, but she regained her footing and gently, but firmly, hugged her back. Skye was still crying, and she pressed her face closer to May's body. The older lady started rubbing her back and making soothing noises. It helped to calm Skye down until she slowly pulled away from May and ran a hand down her face, wiping her tears away.

"Thanks May," she was mumbling and a little embarrassed of what she did. When she looked up at May though, the older lady was smiling widely.

"Anytime sweetheart. It's what I'm here for."

Skye nodded, but still felt a little embarrassed.

"Do you think you can get in the car?" Skye contemplated the question. May didn't sound annoyed or agitated, just curious and concerned.

She looked at the car. It was just a black sedan. May thought she was brave. Skye could be brave.

She mustered up all of her courage and nodded. May nodded and said, "that's my girl."

 _Her_ girl. When May said that, she felt really light, like her past wasn't dragging her down anymore. She ignored the feeling though. She was getting worried that she was getting too attached too quickly.

May opened the back door and Skye climbed in. She let May buckle her into her booster seat and watched her get into the driver's seat. Skye felt nervous even though she was trying to be brave. May started the car and before she drove away, she looked back at Skye, "What's your favorite song ever?"

Skye wasn't expecting that. She thought about it for a second, "I like the Rapunzel songs."

May nodded, turned back around, did something to her phone and then the music started playing. May turned the volume up a little and then pulled out of the driveway.

Skye found herself singing along to the song. She smiled when the next one that came on was her absolute favorite song ever, and she started singing louder. She looked up and saw May smiling at her in the mirror. She smiled back and kept on singing. At least she wasn't as bad of a singer as Phil was.

When they got to the school, Skye actually felt a little disappointed because they were in the middle of a song. May shut the car off, got out, opened up Skye's door and unbuckled her. When Skye's feet hit the ground, she let out a breath.

May put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, "Skye, I'm really proud of you for going into the car even though you were afraid."

That made Skye smile really big. She looked up and took in her new school. It looked pretty nice. It had a big grassy area in the front of it and stairs leading up to the front door. It looked kind of big though and Skye was afraid she would get lost in there.

"Ready?"

Even though she wasn't, Skye nodded. She took May's pinky and they both walked into the school.

The halls were empty and Skye looked at all the art on the walls. They took a right and walked into the office. There was a lady sitting behind a desk smiling at them. May walked up to the desk and started talking to the lady. May didn't let go of Skye's pinky and she was grateful for that. They talked for a long time, but Skye didn't move away from May. May finally signed some papers and said goodbye.

May swung Skye's pinky, so she looked up at the older woman, "Let's go rescue Natasha."

* * *

Natasha had been staring at the clock the whole entire day. She was stuck in math class, waiting for her mom to come and get her. When she _finally_ got called out, she tossed a smirk in Steve's direction and practically sprinted out of the room. She made sure to send a group text to Steve, Bucky and Clint reminding them to come over to her house later so that they could finish up their project.

When she walked into the front office, she saw her mom standing by the receptionists desk with little Skye standing right beside her. Their pinkies were linked together. Natasha smiled.

The receptionist was watching her and suddenly her mom spoke very loudly, "Ready to go to your _dentist appointment_ Nat?" She rolled her eyes and saw Skye give her mom a confused look.

"May, I thought we were going t-" before Skye could finish, Natasha interrupted her, "let's go guys, we're gonna be late."

She led them out of the building and Skye tugged on her mom's hand, "May, I thought we were going to the mall, not the dentist. I hate the dentist." Her little face scrunched up adorably and Nat couldn't help but smile.

"We are sweetie, but if they knew that, they wouldn't have let Nat leave."

"Oh."

By then, they had made it to the car and instead of sitting in the passenger seat like usual, she sat in the back with Skye. She helped buckle Skye in while her mom turned the car on. As soon as it was on, Disney music started playing. This was new.

She raised her eyebrows and looked at her mom. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror and the older woman just shook her head, so Nat didn't question it. Skye started singing along and that made Natasha grin. Her little voice was so cute and she stumbled over most of the words because she didn't know all the lyrics.

Skye continued to sing softly as Nat and her mom talked about their days. When they made it to the mall, they all got out and walked towards the entrance.

"So, Nat needs jeans. Why don't we hit up Macy's first and then go from there," May raised an eyebrow at Nat and Skye and they both nodded. When they walked through the doors, Nat noted that it was busier than usual. She started walking towards the store but stopped when she realized that Skye wasn't following them.

"What's wrong, маленькая звезда?" She looked down at the little girl and saw her mom kneel beside her. The little girl looked unsure of herself. She was staring at all the people milling around. Natasha had to admit, it was pretty busy and she could see how all of these people could scare Skye.

"There are a lot of people here. What if you lose me?" The way she said it made Nat feel like Skye had been left alone in a store before. That thought made her angry, but she forced herself to smile gently at Skye and say, "We would never lose you, Skye."

The little girl still looked uncertain. Her mom straightened and lifted Skye up with her. Skye looked startled and her mom said, "Here, this way there is no way we can lose you." Skye remained stiff for a minute before relaxing a little bit and wrapping an arm around her mom's neck.

Once that was settled, they found Natasha some jeans to try on before heading to the kids section of Macy's. Natasha loved looking at little kid clothes. Everything was so freaking cute.

"Okay Skye, when you see something you like, point it out and we'll grab it." May instructed her and the little girl nodded.

After a couple of minutes, it became obvious that Skye wasn't going to say anything.

"Skye, don't you see anything you like?" Natasha questioned.

When Skye didn't say anything, just looked away guiltily, May jostled her a little bit so that the little girl would look at her. "Skye, remember what I told you yesterday? I _want_ to buy you these clothes. Don't feel bad, I promise, I want to do this."

Skye reluctantly nodded and Natasha pulled a shirt from the shelf. It was pink and had little blue hearts all over it. "How about this Skye? It's super cute."

The little girl studied it before nodding, "I like that."

After that, it was fairly easy to pick out clothes that Skye liked. The little girl seemed to like _everything_. After Nat tried on her jeans and got the correct sizes, she came back to find their cart basically full. She spied some dresses, a lot of shirts, some shorts, skirts, jeans, leggings, socks and underwear. They were looking at shoes and when Skye saw Natasha coming, she smiled brightly and held up a pair of sneakers. "Natasha! Look at these! May said I could get them!" The pair she was holding up was white and blue and had a star on the outside side of each shoe.

Nat smiled at the little girl, "Those are perfect for you Skye."

Natasha was happy to see Skye smiling so much. It was good to see her get excited and have fun. Her mom put the shoes in their cart and Natasha lifted Skye up and placed her in it. She made herself comfortable on top of her clothes. They walked over to the registers and May paid for all of their things.

Natasha grabbed the bags and May lifted Skye out of the cart. The little girl wrapped her legs around her mom's waist and her arms around her neck. She hugged herself tightly to the older woman and Natasha's eyebrows raised in surprise at the display of affection. Skye whispered something into May's ear and she smiled.

"Let's go girls. We can stop and get ice cream on the way home." Skye let out a happy sound and rested her head on May's shoulder. Natasha readjusted her grip on the bags and followed her mom to the car. When they got there, Natasha saw that Skye had fallen asleep, so she gently grabbed her from her mom's arms and placed her into her booster seat. She quietly strapped her in and then got into the passenger seat.

The drive back was fairly quiet; both women didn't want to wake up Skye.

"We can have ice cream after dinner instead." May said and Natasha nodded.

Natasha kept her voice soft when she said, "Skye seems to be doing better. I saw the hug."

Her mom smiled softly, "Yeah, it surprised me too. Actually, she had a rough patch when we went to get into the car. Remember last night when she told Bucky that she had been in a car accident?" When Nat nodded, she continued, "Well, I called the orphanage and asked about it and they said that she was in the car with some older foster parents when a car hit them and they died instantly. Apparently, she was trapped in the car for an hour before they got her out. Poor baby, she's terrified of cars. That's why the Disney music was on earlier. I was trying to distract her."

Nat felt a rush of sympathy run through her. She glanced at the sleeping girl sitting in the backseat. She couldn't believe little Skye had been through so much and was still able to smile. Learning about this just strengthened her resolve to ensure that Skye was safe and happy with her family.

When they returned home, her mom shut the car off and went to go wake Skye up. Nat walked to the back and started grabbing their bags.

She heard her mom and Skye talking, "Wake up sleepyhead."

Skye's voice was tiny and groggy when she answered, "Did we get ice cream?"

"No baby, you fell asleep, remember? We can have some after dinner, I promise."

"Oh, okay."

They all walked into the house and saw her dad sitting at the dining room table looking over some papers. When she asked where Trip was, her dad told her that he was at the movies. Her mom sat down next to her dad and started talking to him, so Nat went and dropped their bags off in Skye's room. She'd grab her jeans later. She texted the boys and told them that she was home and they could come over whenever they wanted.

When she went back downstairs, she saw Skye sitting on the floor in the living room playing with her dolls. Nat had noticed that Skye really liked dolls, so she ran up to the playroom and dug around for a couple of minutes. She grabbed the doll she was looking for, it was at the bottom of a crate full of toys, and fist pumped in triumph. She made her way back downstairs and sat down next to Skye.

The little girl looked up from her dolls and grinned at her, "Do you want to play with me Natasha?"

"I would love to play with you Skye, but first I wanted to give you this," She handed Skye the doll and saw the little girl's eyes light up. The doll had long brown hair and brown eyes. It was a plastic doll and it had a permanent smile, but rather than looking creepy, it looked cute. It had a purple dress on and white shoes. Skye gingerly grabbed the doll and studied it.

"This doll looks like me, Natasha."

"I know. Do you like her? Her name's Alice. She used to be mine, but I want you to have her." Natasha was a little ashamed to admit that Alice had been hers. It was the first toy that May and Phil had bought her. When they gave it to her, she had angrily yelled at them in Russian, saying how she was ten years old and she was too old for toys. She had thrown the doll on the floor in her room and left it there until it was time for her to go to bed.

Back then, she had still locked her door when she was going to sleep. She didn't want a repeat of what happened in her first foster family, so after she locked her door, she laid down on her bed to try and fall asleep. She hadn't been able to go to sleep so she opened her eyes and saw the doll. She had gotten out of bed, walked over to it, picked it up and brought it back to bed with her. For some reason, cuddling with the doll helped Natasha sleep better. She had slept with that doll every night for two years before she decided that she didn't need it anymore.

"I really, really like her. Thank you." Skye smiled brightly at her and handed her a blonde doll so that they could play together.

They were still playing on the floor when Nat heard the doorbell ring. That must be the guys.

"Sorry kiddo, I've gotta finish this project. We can play some more later." Skye shrugged and continued playing with Alice.

She let the boys in and they all said hello to Skye before they got the work in the living room. They were almost done with this stupid project. They had to present in class on Monday and they all really didn't like talking in front of the class, so they were practicing a lot.

They all took turns presenting their own parts in front of each other for practice. They were making fun of each other and laughing while giving each other tips and corrections. Nat stood up and presented her part and when she finished, Clint was the first one to speak up.

"Maybe when you present, try not to glare at the whole class. You'll probably scare them." He was smirking at her so she knew that he was joking.

She decided to play along, "I'm not scary Clint. I'm a freaking delight okay?"

"While you were presenting, you looked like you wanted to beat us all up!"

"I did not!" They were raising their voices and Nat saw that Clint was smiling. Steve and Bucky just gave each other an amused look.

"You did too!"

"I'm about to beat _you_ up, Clinton!"

"Hey! Don't pull out that first name! That was dirty Red!"

Natasha was about to laugh when she heard Steve speak up, "Hey guys! Shh, look." He was pointing at Skye.

When she turned around to look at the little girl, her heart clenched. Skye was still sitting on the floor, but now her knees were pulled up to her chest and she was rocking back and forth. Her hands were covering her ears and her cheeks were wet. Their loud voices had scared her. Nat started to get up, but Clint beat her too it. He approached Skye, but when he got too close, the little girl whimpered and scrambled backwards. She brought her hands up to block her face and said, 'No! I'll be good, I'll be good!"

Clint jerked back like he had been burned. He gave Natasha a look and she motioned for him to move away. He obliged and Nat got closer to Skye. She sat down on the floor and scooted forward. "Skye? We were just pretending to be mad at each other. We weren't actually going to hurt each other. I'm sorry we scared you." Skye kept rocking and crying and wouldn't look at Nat. Nat felt like _she_ was going to start crying. She had scared her little sister.

"Skye, please, I would never hurt you, you're my little sister."

Skye wouldn't stop crying and Nat felt terrible. She didn't know what to do so she called in her mom. May came running in, saw Skye on the floor and gently motioned for Nat to move to the side. Nat got up and went to stand by her friends. They were taking in the whole scene with wide eyes.

Nat saw her mom lean towards Skye and whisper to her. May gently lifted one of the little girls' hands and placed it on her chest. She continued to whisper to her and after a couple of minutes, Skye stopped crying. Her mom wiped Skye's tears away and the little girl wrapped her arms around May's neck. May whispered something else and the little girl nodded. Her mom lifted Skye up and the little girl wrapped herself around her. Before they could leave, Nat picked Alice up from the floor and carefully approached them.

Skye's head was buried in her mom's neck, but she must've heard Nat approaching them because she turned her head and looked at her. Nat saw that the little's girls cheeks were still a little wet and her eyes were red. She wanted to kick herself. She couldn't believe that she had done this. She offered Alice to Skye. The little girl reached out to take it and then tucked the doll into her chest. Her mom walked past her, leaned forward to kiss Nat's forehead and then took Skye upstairs.

Nat sat down on the couch and felt her eyes starting to water. She would _not_ cry. She had basically just given her little sister a panic attack.

She dropped her head into her hands, "I can't believe I did that too Skye."

She felt Steve sit down beside her and start to rub circles on her back, "You didn't mean to scare her Nat. You couldn't have known that would happen."

Even though she knew Steve was right, she was still full of guilt. She had scared her little sister, and she had _sworn_ that she would protect her and keep her from getting scared. It had barely been two days and she had already broken that promise.

She looked up, "Guys? Is it okay if we finish this later?"

They all nodded and Bucky gave her a sympathetic look before saying, "Of course Nat. We'll text you later."

They all gave her quick hugs before walking out the door.

She needed to go apologize to Skye. She needed to know that she was alright.

She sprinted upstairs and just caught her mom leaving Skye's room. She left the door open a crack and turned. When she saw Nat, she put a finger over her lips and led her into Nat's room.

As soon as Nat shut the door, she spoke, "Is Skye okay? I didn't mean to scare her mom! We were just messing around, I didn't even think we were being that loud. I'm so sorry, I'm a terrible big sister. Can I go see her?"

"She's sleeping right now, but you can talk to her in the morning. And you are not a terrible big sister Nat, you had no way of knowing that Skye would react that way."

She looked down at her shoes, "You sound like Steve," she mumbled.

"I knew I liked that kid for a reason," She looked up and saw her mom smiling at her. She couldn't smile back at her.

Her mom sighed, "Nat, seriously, there was no way any of us knew this would happen. We're still learning what triggers Skye, and unfortunately, there's no other way to do it than by trial and error. She's fine now though. She actually felt bad that she made you and your friends worried."

That made Nat feel 100x worse.

Her mom gave her a sympathetic look and leaned in to kiss her forehead again. "She'll be fine baby," and with that, she left the room.

Nat couldn't do anything but think about Skye. She couldn't focus on her homework, so she gave up and changed for bed. As she laid down, she willed herself to go to sleep so that she could wake up tomorrow and apologize to Skye.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Poor little Skye, she just can't catch a break.

Skye likes Rapunzel, but I really like Beauty and the Beast. What're your guys' favorite Disney movie?

Thank you to everyone who keeps reviewing. I love reading what you guys have to say :) Got anything specific you wanna see happen in this fic? Lemme know and maybe I can fit it in! Thank you so much for reading, you guys are literally the best. xx -Ariel


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I'm updating twice today because I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next two or three days and don't know when I'll get the chance to add another chapter.**

 **A lot of people have been asking about Phil and I promise he'll start to become a bigger part of this story! It's just, Skye's still scared of him, but they're working on it, I promise. I personally LOVE the relationship between Skye and Phil in the show and I'll try to do it justice in this fic.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter, it was pretty fun to write :) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

* * *

When Skye woke up, the first thing she thought of was that she had to go to school today. The second thing she thought of was how guilty she felt. She had freaked out in front of Natasha and all of her friends. They had been laughing and having fun and Skye had probably ruined it. Natasha probably hated her and didn't want to be her sister anymore. She couldn't help how she had reacted. They started getting louder and louder and then they had said something about beating someone up and then Skye couldn't get Mr. Ramsey out of her head.

She hadn't meant to ruin Natasha's fun, she just got really scared and couldn't stop thinking about how Mr. Ramsey would yell at her and push her down and throw things at her. When May came in and helped her remember that she was safe, she hadn't been able to look at Natasha. She was probably really mad at her. She had only glanced at the older girl for a second, just long enough to grab Alice and tuck her close, but she saw that Natasha had looked upset and like she was going to cry. Skye had embarrassed her in front of her friends and made her sad and she had to apologize.

She scrambled out of bed, grabbed Alice and tiptoed out of her room. She didn't hear Phil downstairs, so she assumed that she was up earlier than normal. She made her way to Natasha's door, but she couldn't make herself walk in. She stared at the scenery painted on the door for awhile. The snow and barren trees might've looked a little sad and lonely, but for some reason it comforted Skye. She gathered up her courage and twisted the doorknob.

She had never been in Natasha's room before. She didn't really know what she expected it to look like, but she didn't think it would look like this. Her room was very, very neat. Her walls were a dark color, she couldn't tell what because there were no lights on, and all of her furniture was white. She had posters all over her walls; most of them had superheroes on them while some had ballerinas. She had a desk against the wall and a big mirror hanging just over it. There were pictures all over the edge of her mirror and Skye could see Steve, Bucky and Clint in a lot of them. She wanted to move closer to get a better look at them, but she thought that she should ask Natasha first.

Her eyes were drawn to the bed. It had a white frame and white sheets and she could see Natasha's red hair but nothing else. She slowly approached the bed. When she was standing right by it, she carefully climbed up and sat down next to Natasha, cross legged. She stared at the sleeping girl for a little while before deciding that if she wanted to apologize, Natasha needed to be awake. She didn't know if Natasha would get mad if she woke her up, maybe she should just wait until she woke up on her own.

That sounded like a better idea, so she sat there for a couple of minutes before Natasha shifted and made a noise. Skye could tell that she was waking up even though it was way earlier than she normally did.

She leaned in a little and whispered, "Nattie? Are you waking up?"

The older girl groaned and reached up to rub her eyes. She slowly opened them and blinked blearily and Skye. When she saw her, she bolted up and leaned over to turn on her lamp.

"Skye! Are you okay? What're you doing in here?" She looked worried and that made Skye feel worse. Natasha was worried about her even though she had ruined her night.

"I'm sorry, I can go." She started crawling off of the bed but Natasha stopped her.

"No, wait. Please don't go, I want to talk to you." Skye looked over and Natasha was sitting up now. She threw back the covers and scooted over so she was right in front of Skye. Maybe she wanted to yell at her or maybe she would tell her she didn't want to be sisters anymore.

She braced herself for the worst. Whatever it was, she would _not_ cry, "I wanted to apologize Skye. I feel so terrible for what I did, I didn't think about how you would react. I should've known that that would scare you. I didn't mean to make you scared Skye, please, you have to believe me." Natasha was wringing her hands in her lap and pleading with her.

Skye couldn't believe what she was hearing. Natasha was apologizing to _her_. She wasn't mad at Skye, she felt bad about what happened. She thought it was her fault that Skye got scared.

Skye had to reassure her, "No, it was my fault Nattie. I'm sorry I did that in front of all of your friends. It was stupid. I'm stupid."

Even though she told herself she wouldn't cry, she couldn't stop the tears from escaping. She had been told she was stupid her whole life and she had tried not to listen to them, but it was hard not to. She had acted like she was stupid last night, so they must be right.

She heard Natasha suck in a breath, "Skye, look at me," she reluctantly looked up and into the redheads face, "You are _not_ stupid, okay? I never want to hear you say that again. You are smart and beautiful and kind and whole bunch of other awesome things, but you are _not_ stupid." She paused to take a breath and to gently intertwine her pinky with Skye's, "You're a great little sister, and I want you to know that I'm sorry for scaring you."

Skye had a lot of thoughts swirling around her mind, but she focused on the main one, "So, you still want to be my big sister?"

Natasha breathed out a little laugh, "Skye, I'll _always_ be your big sister, not matter what. Even if we fight or are far away from each other, even if you want me to _stop_ being your big sister, I still will be. Nothing will change that. We're sisters forever."

Skye was surprised at how happy and relieved she felt when she heard Natasha say that. She still wanted to be her sister and wasn't mad at her. Her tears stopped and she felt the overwhelming urge to give Natasha a hug. Usually, that would scare her. She didn't want to get close in case they sent her back, but Phil had said that they were keeping her forever and Natasha said that she would always be her sister and May had helped her so many times… she couldn't help but hope that they _wouldn't_ send her back. Maybe they would actually keep her and she would have the family she always wanted.

She remembered what May said yesterday, about Skye being brave, and so she thought that maybe taking a chance was braver than trying not to get attached. This family could turn out like the Ramsey's or the Bedford's, or they could turn out like the Harvey's. The scary part was that Skye had no way of knowing which way they would go.

She decided that she could be brave like May thought she was, so she slowly crawled into Natasha's lap and started playing with the older girl's hands. They sat like that for a little while before they heard Phil walk past the door and go downstairs.

"So, are you excited to start school?" Natasha had started rocking them back and forth and it made Skye feel like she could fall back asleep.

Skye wasn't happy about going to a new school. Actually, she was really nervous and scared and she could feel a bunch of butterflies flying around in her tummy. What if she made no friends? What if everyone was mean? What if her teacher didn't like her?

She didn't answer at first and felt Natasha take her hands out of Skye's and wrap them around her so that she was cuddled close to her chest. It felt nice and warm. "Skye, sisters tell each other everything. You can tell me if you're scared, you can tell me and I'll keep it a secret. I won't even tell mom."

Oh, she didn't know sisters told each other everything. If that was true, then she could tell Natasha that she was nervous, "I don't want to start a new school. What if people are mean?"

Natasha kept rocking them and it felt good to say that she was scared out loud and not have someone make fun of her, "When I first started living with mom and dad, I had to start a new school too. It was scary at first and I didn't know anyone, but then I met Clint and it got less scary and more fun. You'll make friends here and school will be okay, I promise."

That made Skye feel better. She was thinking about Fitz and Jemma. She had already sorta made some new friends. She hoped that they were in her new class.

Natasha gently patted her thigh, "let's go pick out your outfit. You gotta look good on your first day." Skye nodded and scrambled out of Natasha's lap and into her room.

Natasha helped her pick out a pretty shirt and jeans. She pulled the tags off and marveled at how well they fit compared to her old clothes. Natasha tied her shoes for her and offered to do her hair, so Skye was sitting at her desk with Natasha braiding her hair when May came in.

She looked surprised when she saw both girls were already awake, "I was going to wake Skye up and get her ready for school, but it looks like you beat me to it." Skye smiled at her and felt Natasha tie off her hair.

She stood up and saw May smile at her, "Oh Skye, you look adorable. Nat, why don't you go get ready while we go grab breakfast."

Nat smiled at Skye and kissed her mom on the cheek before disappearing out the door. May led Skye downstairs and helped her climb into her chair in the dining room. She placed a bowl full of cereal in front of her and when Skye started eating, she felt Phil sit down next to her.

* * *

Phil had been keeping his distance from Skye, knowing that she had trouble feeling comfortable around men and wanting her to be able to settle into their home with as much ease as possible. He wanted Skye to trust him. He wanted her to know that he would take care of her and protect her and keep her safe. Now that she was warming up to everyone, Phil thought it was a good time to try and get closer to the little girl. He didn't know what exactly happened to make her so fearful of men, but he could guess.

He remembered when they first got Natasha. She had been an angry little girl. They had to teach her English and help her find ways to deal with her anger, but she had never been _afraid_ of them, just angry and misunderstood. Trip had been a dream. That kid was tough, but he had surprised them all when they found out that he wasn't afraid to talk about what he was feeling. He had healthy ways to deal with his emotions and his past, and although he still had his rough days, he was never afraid of them. He remembered when they took in the twins. They were both ten and their parents had died when their apartment building collapsed. They were mistrustful and stuck together, both refused to even acknowledge May or him for weeks, but they had never been afraid. They finally warmed up to them and they had become a family. Now, they were off at college, Trip was a straight A student, and Natasha was a kindhearted dancer.

Skye _was_ afraid of him. She didn't let him approach her and flinched away from him. She was starting to warm up to May and Natasha and he could tell that she wasn't distancing herself to hurt his feelings, but he couldn't help but feel a little excluded.

He shook that feeling off just as quickly as it came. He would gain Skye's trust if it was that last thing he did. He would s _how_ her that he wanted her to be a part of his family, and that he wanted to protect her and keep her safe and happy. He knew that it would take time and effort and would be hard, but he was willing to do that. He would prove to her that even though he was a male and an adult, he could be trusted. He just hoped that Skye would come around.

* * *

"Ready to go to school kiddo?" Phil was smiling at her.

She smiled back at him and nodded even though she was still nervous, even after her talk with Natasha. She wished she could just stay here and never go to school again.

"It's okay to be a little nervous sweetie." He was giving her a sympathetic look and took her empty bowl of cereal away from her.

When she just nodded again, he said, "Well, your school starts a little earlier than Nat and Trip's. Let's get a move on!" He handed her the blue backpack and lunchbox that May bought her yesterday and she followed him out to the car.

She reminded herself to be brave and got into the car. May buckled her in and they listened to Disney songs on the way to school. She looked out the window as she sang along to the music. She was super nervous. She tried think about anything else, playing dolls with Natasha or the stars stuck onto her ceiling, but it didn't help.

They pulled into the school and Phil parked. Skye realized that they were going to go in with her and that made her feel a little better. She didn't see any other kids running around and wondered why.

May unbuckled her and she hopped out of the car, "Why is no one here yet?"

"We got here a little early so that you could meet your teacher and see your classroom before anyone else got here," Phil smiled kindly at her but her tummy still had butterflies.

They made a move to start walking towards the school but Skye couldn't make her feet move. She didn't want to go to school, she wanted to go back home and play with Alice.

"What's wrong baby?" Skye looked up into May's kind face. She looked concerned.

Skye shifted her weight from foot to foot and sucked in a breath before answering, "What if no one likes me here? Or I get lost? Or my teacher doesn't like me? What if the kids are mean and they push me down like Jonathan did… Can we go back home?"

May and Phil glanced at each other before answering.

May kneeled down so that they were eye to eye, "I'm sorry baby, but you have to go to school. We got here early so that you could look around the school so that you won't get lost and I'm sure the kids here will love you, what's not to like? And we know for a fact that your teacher is very nice."

Skye kept fidgeting but was starting to feel better, "How do you know that?"

Phil kneeled down next to May, "Because she's a friend of ours. We've known her for a long time and she is very, very nice."

Oh. All of the things that they were saying made sense and _had_ calmed her down a little, but she was still nervous. She didn't like meeting new people.

"Skye, you're going to be safe in there. No one will hurt you, I promise. I won't let _anyone_ hurt you, even if it's another little kid. You'll be fine sweetie," Phil was looking at her earnestly and she couldn't help but feel comforted. She nodded and smiled at him.

Both May and Phil stood up and offered her each a hand. She took them both and walked between them into the school.

They made sure that she knew the way to her classroom and as they approached it, she saw a lady with dark hair standing by the doorway. She smiled as they got closer and Skye shifted so that she was behind May and Phil.

"Maria! It's so nice to see you again, it's been awhile." Phil was smiling at her and shaking the lady's hands and then the lady shook May's hand.

"Too long, Phil. We should get together for dinner sometime soon. Tony and Pepper tell me all about your guys' adventures in the hospital," she was smiling knowingly.

May laughed and then tugged on Skye's hand a little, "This is our new baby, Skye."

Even though Skye was still nervous, she didn't want to be rude, so she shyly waved at the lady.

The lady smiled brightly at her and reached down to shake her hand. Skye had never shaken anyone's hand before. She hoped that she did it right.

"It is amazing to finally meet you Skye. I'm your teacher, Ms. Hill, and I'm very excited to have you in my class, we're going to have so much fun together." She was smiling brightly and looked genuinely happy to be meeting Skye. She seemed like she was a nice teacher.

"Let's head into the classroom and talk some things over. I'll show you your desk, Skye." Ms. Hill led them into the classroom. She walked Skye over to an empty desk and told Skye that she can put her things away in it. She pulled out her pencils, notebooks, and crayon box and placed them gently into her desk. She was excited to use all of her new supplies. When she finished, Ms. Hill sat down at her desk and they sat in front of her.

Skye liked the classroom. One wall was all windows and they had cubbies to put their lunchboxes and coats in. There were maps and posters on the walls and hanging over the chalkboard was the alphabet. It was bright and happy-looking in here.

She looked back to Ms. Hill and she was shuffling some papers on her desk, looking for something in particular. She squirmed in her seat and felt May wrap her pinky around her own. It made her feel better.

Ms. Hill finally found what she was looking for and smiled triumphantly. "So, it looks like you're a very good student Skye," Skye grinned a little bit at that, "but, your old teacher says that you're a little behind in reading and math."

Skye wasn't good at reading or at math, she knew that. She never wanted to ask for help at the orphanage because the other kids would find out and laugh at her.

She felt her cheeks start to heat up, "There's nothing wrong with that, Skye. I'll work with you one-on-one and we can get you caught up, no big deal." She smiled at Skye and then looked to May and Phil, "I'll send home some extra worksheets that you guys can help Skye with. With both of our help, she'll be caught up in no time." May and Phil nodded enthusiastically.

Skye liked Ms. Hill. She didn't make her feel stupid and she wanted to help her, so she nodded at her and grinned a little. She wanted to be a better reader and she wanted to do well in math and she was willing to work a little harder to accomplish that.

"Excellent! Well, my students should start showing up within the next few minutes, so you might want to start saying goodbye." She smiled at them all, shook May and Phil's hand again, and went to stand outside her door.

Skye knew that May and Phil would have to leave her, but she didn't want them to go. She liked Ms. Hill, but she didn't want to be left alone with a bunch of people she didn't know. What if they forgot to come back for her?

She felt her eyes starting to well up against her will. She stared hard at the ground and forced the tears to go away. She decided that it would probably be best to just get it over with as fast and emotionless as possible.

She stood up and made her way back to her desk, "Bye guys."

She was staring intensely at her desk when she felt May and Phil approach her. "Skye, you don't have to do that. We know you aren't happy to be going to a new school and that it's scary to be in a new class with a bunch of people you don't know." May was talking gently and Skye refused to look up at her, instead choosing to keep staring at the desk.

Phil tried, "I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends here, Skye. We'll miss you at home."

Phil's words sparked a new wave of tears to fill her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She kept staring at the stupid desk.

She heard May's kind voice, "Okay, well we're going to head out. We'll be outside to pick you up as soon as school is over. We'll miss you Skye. Have a wonderful day baby."

When Skye looked up, she saw May and Phil's retreating forms. She felt guilty for ignoring them, "Wait!"

They turned around and Skye ran up to them. She flung her arms around May's middle and buried her face into her stomach, "I'm sorry! I'm scared. Don't leave me here, please."

She felt May start to rub her back and she was making soothing sounds, "Oh sweetie. It's okay to be scared."

Skye rubbed her face back and forth against May's stomach, "It is?"

This time Phil answered her, "Of course it is. Everyone gets scared sweetie. But we both know that you'll be fine here, you might actually have a lot of fun. And if you need us, you can always ask Ms. Hill and she can contact us. We're always here for you Skye."

She pulled away from May, Phil's words making her feel much better. She remembered that May said that she was brave, so she took a deep breath and tried to be brave. "Okay. You guys will come back and get me right?"

Phil and May exchanged glances again, "Of course we'll come back and get you Skye. We would never leave you behind." Phil's voice was kind. He had been comforting her all morning and she remembered what she had been thinking about with Natasha this morning, about giving this family a chance, so she cautiously stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug.

It was a very brief hug, Skye stepped out of it pretty much immediately, but she could tell that Phil was happy because his smile was bigger than it usually was.

"Okay sweetie, we need to go now. We'll be out front at the end of the day. Have a great day baby." May looked like she wanted to stay, but she took Phil's hand and started leading him out of the room.

"Have fun today Skye! We'll miss you." Phil smiled at her one last time and then she was alone.

She took a deep breath and sat back down at her desk. She could do this. She would be okay here and she would try to make friends.

Other kids started trickling into the room and a boy came and sat in the desk next to her, "Hi!"

She looked over at him. He had dark blonde hair and green eyes and he was smiling widely at her. He looked nice, "Hi."

"You're new here. I'm Lincoln and I sit right here, so we're neighbors." He was still smiling and Skye thought that he was nice.

"I'm Skye."

He was about to say something else when she heard someone else say her name. She looked towards the door and saw the boy and girl from the playground waving excitedly at her.

"Skye! You're in our class! Oh yay, this is going to be so much fun!" Jemma walked up to her and Fitz followed, "Yeah, you should sit with us during reading time. We sit right by Ms. Hill so we can see _all_ of the pictures in the books."

Skye looked at the three people standing around her and smiled at them. Maybe school wasn't as bad as she thought.

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Sooooo what'd you guys think? It was mostly Phil and Nat moments in this fic with a little bit of May. I feel bad for sidelining Trip so much, but he'll be in the next chapter, I promise!

I'm so happy you guys are liking this fic! I love it when you guys send me reviews, it makes me smile every time I read one. Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you guys think! xx -Ariel


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! This chapter is mainly just a filler chapter but it's still really cute. It's got some more Phil moments in there and I hope you like it!**

 **Sorry for the delay guys! I had to go to a memorial service yesterday and spent the rest of the day with my family. Thank you for being patient!**

 **As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

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Skye had actually enjoyed school. She sat with Fitz and Simmons during reading time and at lunch. Lincoln had helped her find everything in the classroom and had worked with her on her letters. Ms. Hill had worked one-on-one with her to help her with her math and she didn't even make Skye feel stupid. They had played tag during recess and no one had been mean to her. All of her classmates had been really nice. Skye liked it here.

It was the end of the day and Ms. Hill had given them a worksheet to do that focused on the letter S. Skye liked practicing writing her S's because it was easier to write than the R's but more challenging than the Q's. Lincoln had finished his worksheet already, but Skye was making sure to write neatly, so she was still working on hers. He was talking to her and she was trying to ignore him so that she could focus and not mess up.

"Oh! I forgot to ask you! What's your last name?"

Skye looked up at him. She didn't have a last name. She knew that everyone else did, but she didn't know what her real one was. The nuns at the orphanage had given her a really bad one, so she never _ever_ used it. She furrowed her eyebrows and thought about it. She decided to just tell him the truth and hope he didn't think she was too weird.

"I don't have a last name." She went back to filling out her worksheet and hoped that Lincoln would just stop talking about it and change the subject.

"What are you talking about? Everyone has a last name." He waved his hands around energetically so that Skye got the point that _everyone_ in the classroom had a last name.

She felt her cheeks heat up and kept her eyes averted, "Well I don't."

She glanced up real fast and saw that Lincoln looked really confused, "Your last name is the same and your mom and dad's!"

She felt herself growing angry. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She didn't answer him and focused on her worksheet really hard instead.

"Skye?" Lincoln sounded curious but Skye was still mad at him. She could feel him staring at her even though she wasn't answering him. She got even more annoyed.

She dropped her pencil, turned to him and angrily said, "I don't have parents so I don't have a last name!"

Now Lincoln looked even more confused, "But… I thought everyone had parents?"

She felt her anger slowly fading. Lincoln _had_ parents. His mommy and daddy probably loved him and never yelled at him or hit him. He didn't know that there were some people who didn't have mommy's and daddy's.

"My parent's didn't want me so they left me at an orphanage. A lot of other kids live there with me and they don't have parent's either. Some of them know their last names, but I don't know mine because they left me there when I was a little baby."

Now Lincoln looked sad, "You don't have a mom and dad?"

Skye sighed, "No."

Lincoln looked away for a couple of seconds before looking back at Skye, "But you moved here and started a new school. Why?"

Skye tried to figure out how to explain this, "Well, sometimes other families will look after me and the other kids so that we don't have to live in the orphanage. They're called foster parents. A new family took me away and now I'm living with them, but since they live in a different town, I had to go to a different school."

Lincoln was nodding along, "Oh. I'm sorry you don't have a mom and dad, Skye. But I'm happy that you're here and that we're friends now."

Skye didn't really know what to say to that, but luckily she didn't have to say anything because Ms. Hill told them get their things together and line up by the door. Lincoln took the bus home so he was in a different line, but Jemma's mom picked up her _and_ Fitz, so they were all in the same line.

First they made sure all the other kids got on the right busses, and then Ms. Hill led the rest of them to the front of the school. Skye started to worry that maybe May and Phil had lied to her and wouldn't come and get her. When they walked out the front doors, Fitz and Jemma said goodbye to her and then ran over to Jemma's mom. Skye fidgeted from foot to foot and tried to spot May and Phil. She stood on her tiptoes but couldn't find them. They probably forgot her.

Skye stopped looking and stared at the ground. Of course they forgot her. Skye didn't know why she thought that this family would be different than the other ones. Suddenly she heard her name being called and she jerked her head up. May and Phil were standing by a tree. Phil was waving at her and May was smiling. She ran over to them.

"You remembered me!"

Phil took her backpack and her lunchbox from her, "Of course we remembered you Skye. We were having trouble finding you in the crowd though. Maybe we should all agree to meet here by this tree from now on?"

Skye was smiling. They hadn't forgotten about her. "Okay, Phil."

Skye grabbed May's pinky and started walking towards the car, "How was your first day, baby? Did you make any friends?"

Skye nodded and started telling them about Ms. Hill and what she did at recess and about how she traded her goldfish for an apple at lunch. She told May about Lincoln, Fitz, and Simmons as the older woman buckled her into her booster seat. May got into the passenger seat and Disney music was already playing in the background. She had just finished telling them about her S-worksheet. She was smiling and talking with her hands.

"Fitz and Simmons are our neighbors Skye. The Fitz's live to the right of us and the Simmons' live to the left of us. They can come over and play whenever you want sweetie."

"Really?" Her new friends lived really close to her and they could play all the time. This was so awesome.

"Of course baby. Nat and Trip's friends come over all the time. Yours can too." May was turned around in her seat and smiling at her.

"It sounds like you had a pretty good first day. How about we celebrate by stopping and getting some ice cream?" Phil glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

Skye _loved_ ice cream. She didn't get to eat it as much as she wanted and there was no way she was ever going to turn some down. She nodded enthusiastically and began singing along to the Lion King song that was currently playing.

Phil turned the car into a little ice cream shop and parked. He unbuckled Skye and she skipped enthusiastically after him. The shop was kind of cold and Skye was instantly drawn to the containers that held a bunch of different ice cream flavors. She wasn't tall enough to see the ice cream, so she started jumping up. It wasn't really helping. She was mid-jump when she felt someone grab her around the waist and stopped her from hitting the ground.

She hastily looked back and saw Phil's smiling face. He lifted her up and placed her on his hip. She remained stiff at first but then she reminded herself of what she had decided earlier that morning. She relaxed and wrapped an arm around Phil's neck. He leaned over so that Skye could peer into the containers and look at the different ice cream flavors.

"There's so many different flavors! I don't know what I want to get." Skye was looking at the names of the different ice cream, but she couldn't read them.

"You can get whatever you want sweetie." Phil was smiling at her and she saw May talking to an employee.

May called over, "Phil, you want a chocolate milkshake right?"

Phil nodded and muttered to Skye, "She knows me better than I know myself."

Skye grinned at that. She went back to looking at the ice cream flavors. There was one that was light blue and had pink and yellow sprinkles in it. It looked cool. "Phil, what is that one?" She pointed at it and Phil read the name to her, "Birthday cake. Is that the one you want?" Skye had never had birthday cake flavored ice cream before so she nodded.

Phil walked over to May and the employee. May was already eating her ice cream and she was holding Phil's milkshake, "Skye knows what she wants."

The employee looked at her expectantly and Skye froze a little bit. The worker looked bored and she didn't want to talk to him. She looked away and turned her face so that it was pushed against Phil's shoulder. She felt his had rub comforting circles against her back and he whispered to her, "Do you want a cup or a cone?"

"Cup please," she whispered back and pushed her face harder against his shoulder. Phil had uncomfortable shoulders.

"Skye wants birthday cake in a cup. I guess we should get something for Nat and Trip too, huh?" He jostled Skye a little so she knew that he was talking to her. She nodded. Natasha and Trip deserved ice cream too. "Can we also get cookie dough and chocolate peanut buttercup in cups to-go please?" The employee nodded and went to go complete the order.

He came back and handed Skye her cup of ice cream but he let go of it before she had a good grip on it and it fell to the floor. Skye saw it hit the ground and watched as ice cream exploded out of it. She felt her eyes start to well up with tears. May and Phil had been really nice to her and had gotten her ice cream and she had ruined it. She unintentionally gripped Phil's shirt really hard and forced herself not to cry. They hadn't yelled so far and maybe they wouldn't yell this time.

She fearfully looked up, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to fall!"

May was shaking her head, "Skye, it's fine. It was an accident, okay? We'll just get you a new one sweetie." She looked to the employee and he nodded and told another employee to clean up the mess while he went to get more ice cream.

Skye knew that May and Phil weren't mad at her, but her eyes were still filled with unshed tears. She turned her head and saw Phil looking at her, "It's okay Skye. We know it was an accident. We aren't mad."

They really _weren't_ mad. Skye was so used to adults just automatically being angry at her when anything went wrong. She wasn't used to people like May and Phil. They didn't blame her when accidents happened. They didn't yell or hit or push or scare her. She wasn't used to dealing with adults like this and she didn't know if this would last, but she hoped it did. She liked them and she felt safe with them. She liked that they didn't yell at her or make her do things that were scary or that she didn't want to do. Sure, they had made her go to school, but Skye knew that she _had_ to go to school and May and Phil had made sure that she felt safe before leaving. Skye _liked_ May and Phil and Natasha and Trip and she wanted to stay with them for as long as she could.

The employee handed Skye her new ice cream and she made sure to grab it carefully so that she didn't drop it again. They paid for their treats and carried them back to the car. Phil buckled her in and Skye carefully ate on the way home. She didn't want to get any ice cream on the seats.

They got home and Phil carried Skye's backpack and lunchbox while she carried Natasha and Trip's ice cream. May unlocked the door and they walked inside.

"Well, if it isn't the Fantastic Four. Aren't you done with that presentation yet?"

"Actually mom, we literally just finished."

Skye peered around May and saw Natasha and her friends sitting on the floor in the living room. There was bowls filled with snacks sitting around them and they all had drinks nearby. She ran over to Natasha, "Nattie, we got you ice cream!"

Natasha grinned and raised an eyebrow, "did you now?"

Skye smiled, "Yeah, and Trip too."

Natasha grinned and then shouted, "Trip! There's ice cream down here with your name on it!"

They waited a couple of seconds and then they heard feet running down the upstairs hallway. She saw Trip fly down the stairs and skid to a stop by May and Phil, "Did someone say ice cream?"

Phil nodded and pointed to Skye, "It's with the little delivery girl."

Skye handed Trip the bag and he walked into the kitchen with it. He came back and handed Natasha her ice cream and a spoon. She thanked him and Trip ruffled Skye's hair before returning upstairs.

"We've got some work to catch up on so we'll be in the dining room. You guys are going to stay for dinner, right?" May watched as the group all looked at each other and Clint nodded at her.

"Great. Skye, you can play for a little while, but they you need to get started on your homework alright? Phil and I can help you with it." May smiled at her and then disappeared into the dining room with Phil.

Skye grabbed Alice. She was laying on the couch watching t.v., just where Skye had left her this morning. She sat down by Natasha and looked around. Clint, Steve and Bucky were all staring at her. Skye's cheeks flushed when she realized that the last time they had been here, Skye had totally freaked out in front of them. She lifted a hand and waved shyly at them.

"No ice cream for us, Skye?" She couldn't tell if Clint was kidding or not but she felt really guilty for not having any for him.

She looked down at her cup of ice cream. It still had some left, "I didn't know you were going to come over. You can have the rest of mine Clint." She held the cup up for him.

He laughed, "I was just joking Skye. You don't have to give me your ice cream, but it was really nice of you to offer." Skye pulled her cup back to her and nodded.

She heard Bucky talk, "Nat told us it was your first day at a new school today. How'd it go?"

She looked up and saw that Bucky staring at her. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt, so Skye could see his fake arm and she remembered how it had made a gentle whirring sound when it moved. Skye liked his arm. She thought it he was really awesome to have lost his real arm but still be happy with a fake one. He looked like he was genuinely interested in what she had so say, so she answered him, "It was okay. I made some friends today and traded my goldfish for an apple at lunch."

They all smiled at her and then Steve said, "Tell us all about it Skye."

He also looked like he really wanted to know. She looked up to Natasha and the older girl gave her an encouraging smile, so she told them. She told them about Lincoln, Fitz, and Simmons and about what she did at recess and she told them how she really liked Ms. Hill. They smiled as they listened to her, and Skye was encouraged by their open expressions.

When she was done talking, Natasha said, "It sounds like you had a good day, маленькая звезда"

Skye nodded and it got quiet for a minute or two.

Clint looked around, "I don't know about you guys, but I've been _dying_ to get my hands on some crayons to color. Skye, do you maybe want to color with us until you have to start your homework?"

Skye nodded enthusiastically, "I'll go get my crayons and some paper!"

She hopped up and ran to her room. She grabbed her box full of crayons and colored pencil and a bunch of construction paper. She ran back downstairs and was about to sit down next to Natasha when she decided that she wanted to sit by Bucky. He was sitting a little farther away from everyone else and she didn't want him to feel lonely.

She sat down cross-legged and put the supplies in the center of the circle.

Clint grabbed a green piece of paper and some crayons, "Thank you Skye. I'm gonna draw you a picture. Do you like dogs? I love dogs. I'm going to draw you a dog."

She smiled at him and then grabbed a piece of paper of her own and dragged some colored pencils over to her. She saw Steve and Natasha grab some supplies and she grabbed a handful of crayons and a pink sheet of paper and handed them to Bucky. He smiled at her and thanked her before he started to draw on his paper.

She smiled back at him and then glanced down to her piece of paper. She was going to draw Bucky a picture so that if he ever thought about his car accident and felt sad, he would have something to look at and he could feel happy again.

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What'd you guys think? I just really love Bucky and Skye. I think he'd be a cute older bro for her :) Lemme know what you guys think!

Thank you so much for reading! I love you guys xx -Ariel


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and it has a _lot_ of FitzSimmons in it. I love those two :) I hope you guys like it.**

 **Also, a lot of you guys have made some really awesome suggestions for this story and I want to do all of them! The problem is that I have the next few chapters planned out already and generally know how I want this story to end. BUT, I was thinking. What if, after I complete this fic, I do some one-shots with the prompts you guys send in? Would any of you be interested in that? Please let me know what you think. If that isn't something you guys would like, I can maybe figure out a way to try and fit in most of your guys' suggestions but it would be a little hard.**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

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The next day during lunch, Skye was sitting next to Fitz and Simmons. Lincoln wasn't in school today and one of the kids who lived next to him said that he was sick. Skye felt sad whenever she glanced at the empty desk beside her. She had traded her goldfish for Fitz's apple again and they were happily eating when she mustered up the courage to ask them what had been on her mind all day, "Do you guys maybe want to go to the playground by our house after school today?"

She had asked May if it was okay that morning and May had excitedly agreed. She was happy that Skye was making friends. Skye had been trying to work up the courage to ask them all day and she had finally managed to when they were secluded at the corner of their lunch table in the cafeteria.

Simmons looked over to Fitz and they both smiled, "Yeah! We _love_ that playground. It's way better than the one here." Skye had to agree with that.

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, we _love_ it. Oh! My dad got me a new ball! We could play footie with it!"

"Oh Fitz! That's a great idea."

Fitz and Simmons were smiling at each other and Skye was happy but a little confused, "What's footie?"

Simmons sighed, "Where we come from, it means soccer."

Oh. Why didn't they just say soccer? "Where are you guys from?"

Fitz pointed to Simmons, "She's from England," and Simmons pointed at Fitz, "He's from Scotland."

Skye didn't know where either of those places were, "Does everyone talk like you guys do where you come from?"

Jemma nodded, "Yeah. I moved here two years ago and Fitz moved here a year after that. We've been best friends ever since!"

Maybe they would become Skye's best friends too. "May said that she could take us an hour after we get out of school. Is that okay?"

Simmons nodded, "Yeah. I can ask my mommy, but she'll probably say yes, and –"

Fitz cut her off and Jemma rolled her eyes, "Why do you call your mom May?"

Skye sighed. She hated explaining this. It made her feel like she was alien. "May isn't my mom."

Jemma and Fitz looked at each other before Simmons spoke up, "Where's your mom?"

Skye reminded herself that she shouldn't be angry at them. They both had mommies and daddies that loved them, and they didn't know what it was like to have been abandoned. She looked up at her two new friends and they both just looked curious, not like they thought she was weird because she didn't have a mom.

"I don't know where my mom and dad are. They left me at an orphanage when I was a baby. May and Phil are looking after me now."

Jemma looked like she did when she was trying to figure out a math problem on one of the worksheets Ms. Hill gives them, "So…they're your new mommy and daddy?"

Jemma had no idea what she was talking about. She may know a lot about math, but she didn't know anything about foster families. That was Skye's area of expertise, "What? No."

Fitz's eyebrows were scrunched together, "Does May tuck you in?"

Skye didn't know why he was asking her this, "Yeah."

"Does Phil pack your lunch for you?"

"Yeah."

This time Jemma asked, "Do they give you hugs and make you feel safe?"

Skye nodded.

"Do they make you feel better after you had a bad dream?"

Skye remembered when she had called May while she was still at the orphanage the night she dreamed about her car accident. May had made her feel way better after her nightmare. She nodded again.

Jemma and Fitz looked at each other again and Skye wished they would stop doing that because it felt like they could read each other's minds.

Jemma spoke up again, "That's what my mom and dad do."

"Yeah, mine too."

"It sounds like May and Phil _are_ your mommy and daddy."

Skye looked at them like they were nuts, "They aren't my mom and dad, they're just looking after me."

This time Fitz spoke up first, "They do mommy and daddy things. Why can't they be your mom and dad?"

Skye was starting to feel angry again, "You guys don't get it. I'm going to throw away my trash."

She got up and slowly walked to the garbage bins. Jemma and Fitz didn't know anything. Skye knew she had a _real_ mommy and daddy somewhere, she just didn't remember them. All she knew was that they didn't want her anymore so they left her with a bunch of nuns. She wondered if they ever loved her or thought about her.

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey had said that they loved her and they never left her alone or made her feel like she was unwanted. Her _real_ parents hadn't done that. The Harvey's had put bandaids on her cuts and tucked her in at night and read her her favorite stories. When she had been sad, they had watched Rapunzel with her. They had done all the things her real parents were supposed to do. Now that she thought about it, they had felt more like parents than the idea of her real parents ever had.

She thought about May and Phil. They _did_ do mommy and daddy things. They had done all the things the Harvey's had done. Her real mommy and daddy didn't do _anything._ All they did was leave her.

Maybe it was okay to have more than one mom and dad.

She stopped thinking about it because it was scaring her a little.

She threw away her trash and made her way back to Fitz and Simmons. They were thankfully arguing over which letter in the alphabet was better and had forgotten about their earlier conversation. Skye sat down and joined the heated debate.

She focused on not thinking about mommies and daddies for the rest of the day. She didn't think about them when Ms. Hill read them Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or when she ran up to May and Phil at the end of the day and they both smiled really widely at her, or when Phil carried in her backpack for her again, or when May was cradling Skye's pinky in her own as they made their way to Jemma's house. She _didn't_.

May knocked on Jemma's door and they heard footsteps running towards the door, "Jemma! Let me open it, we don't know who that is!"

May looked down and smirked at her.

"Sorry mom."

Jemma's mom opened the door and started talking to May. Jemma and Fitz squeezed by them and ran up to Skye. "Look Skye, I have my new ball!" Fitz held a soccer ball right up to Skye's face. It almost touched her nose.

"Fitz! You're pushing it against her face, cut it out!" Jemma yanked the ball out of his hands and smiled when he complained. She started playing keep away with him and he jumped up to try to get it. Simmons giggled and tossed it to Skye and they kept it up until Skye took pity on him and gave it back.

Jemma's mom finished talking to May and beckoned Jemma forward, "May is in charge of you and Fitz, okay darling? Make sure you listen to her and please be good." She leaned forward and kissed her daughter on the cheek and hugged Fitz.

"Okay mom, we'll be good."

"I know you will darling. Have fun!" Jemma smiled at her mom and May led them all off the porch and down the street.

They heard Jemma's mom shout after them, "I love you!" Jemma turned around and shouted it back to her.

May asked them about school and they all talked excitedly until they got to the playground. Once they got there, May told them that she would be sitting on the benches if they needed her and to go and have fun. They ran to the empty space between the swings and the sandbox and started kicking the ball around. They started playing keep away again and Skye was having a lot of fun.

They were trying to keep the ball away from Jemma, so Fitz kicked the ball over towards Skye but he kicked it harder than he expected to and it went flying towards the back of the playground.

Jemma was breathing heavily and it was a little difficult to understand her when she said, "Fitz! Now look what you've done!"

Skye grinned at them as they started bickering, "It's okay guys, I'll go get it." She ran back to where she saw the ball go. She was searching for it when she heard, "Is this yours?"

She looked up and saw a tall guy standing near her holding Fitz's ball. She didn't know who he was and she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, so she didn't say anything. They guy looked like he was Phil's age and he was smiling at her. Skye shrunk away.

They guy tossed her the ball, said "Here you go," and stared at her intensely before walking away.

Skye gripped the ball tightly and ran back towards her friends. As she got closer, she saw that they were talking to a boy. He was a little older than her and kind of looked familiar.

Jemma spotted her, "Skye! You've found it! This boy asked if he could play with us and we said yes so now we can have teams!"

The boy turned towards her and she now knew why he looked familiar. It was the same kid who picked on her the other day! She walked up to him and crossed her arms, "You were mean to me," she accused.

He actually looked guilty. He shuffled his feet and stared at the ground, "Yeah… I'm sorry I was mean to you. My brother told me that I had to go and steal your swing. I didn't want to, I swear." He looked into her eyes and Skye could tell he was telling the truth. She recalled how his brother had grabbed his shoulder painfully.

"Your brother didn't look very nice. He was mean to my sister." She uncrossed her arms but was still a little unsure.

"Yeah, he _is_ mean. And scary. I promise, I wouldn't have been mean to you if my brother hadn't made me."

Skye studied him. Maybe his brother hit him. She knew what that was like. "Okay. I forgive you, but only if you promise to never be mean to me again."

The boy nodded eagerly, "I promise. I'm Grant, but everyone calls me Ward."

Skye finally grinned, "I'm Skye. This is Fitz and that is Simmons. C'mon, let's play. You can be on my team."

Ward grinned back at her and they got back to playing. By the time May said that it was time to go, they were all pretty tired but were having fun. They all groaned but listened to her.

Skye turned to Ward, "We gotta go. Maybe we can play the next time we're both here?"

He nodded, "Okay. Thanks for letting me play with you guys even though I was mean to you."

"Everyone should get a second chance," Ward grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Bye Ward. It was fun playing with you. Next time you should be on my team and we'd totally win," as Fitz spoke, Jemma elbowed him.

"No, Ward can be on _my_ team next time!"

"No! He should be on mine Jemma!"

"Fine! Then Skye can be on mine and we will kick your guys' butts!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!"

"Well maybe I want Skye to be on _my_ team!"

Skye rolled her eyes, waved at Ward and led her two bickering friends towards May.

"Did you guys have fun?" May interlocked her pinky with Skye's and the group started walking back to their homes.

"Yeah!" All three kids answered and May smiled in response.

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Natasha had been trying to fall asleep for the past hour. It was past midnight and she just couldn't do it. She didn't know why, maybe it was because she was nervous about her upcoming presentation or her dance recital. Whatever was keeping her up, she wished it would go away because she knew she was going to be tired tomorrow. At least she would be able to sleep in because it was the weekend.

She had had a boring day at school. Clint had stayed home with the lame excuse of being 'sick'. She knew that he just hadn't finished his math homework and didn't want to get a zero. Steve was _actually_ sick, and Bucky had to go to a doctor's appointment, something about them checking over his prosthetic arm, so he had only been there for half a day. She had to make some more friends because eating lunch alone was not fun.

When she got home, she had planned on hanging out with Skye and Trip, but Skye had been at the playground with her mom and Trip left to go to Hunter's house. She had watched movies with her dad and joked over popcorn until Skye and her mom came back. Then they all watched some t.v. and ate dinner before Skye had to go to bed and her parents started talking about some patients at the hospital. They had to go back to work next week. They told Natasha that her mom had cut back her hours at the hospital so that she would be home when Skye was home. Her mom was a physical therapist and her dad was a pediatric doctor. They both really liked their jobs and Natasha could tell that her mom was a little sad about having to cut back her hours but she said that she wanted to be here for her, Trip and Skye.

Nat groaned and twisted around in her bed. Why was it so hot in here? She kicked her covers off of her legs and stared at the ceiling. Sleep was being extra evasive tonight.

She had desperately started counting stupid little sheep in her head when she heard something. She quickly sat up and stopped moving so that she could listen. Was that crying? She turned on her lamp and uncertainly stood up. She waited a couple of seconds before she heard the crying again. She was right next door to Skye, it must be her.

She crept out of her room and gently pushed open Skye's door. She whispered, "Skye? Are you alright?" She stopped just inside the doorway. It was pretty dark in the room, but the nightlight provided some visual aid, and Nat could see little Skye in the process of stripping her sheets.

When Skye heard her voice, the little girl froze. She looked up and Nat could see that her face was wet and that she was breathing quickly. What was going on?

Skye started backing away until her back hit the bedside table, "I'm sorry! I had a bad dream!" She was still crying, sobbing actually, and it made Natasha's heart clench.

If she had a bad dream, why was she stripping off her sheets? Natasha squinted in the semi-darkness and saw a dark patch on the middle of Skye's sheets. Oh. Her poor baby sister had had a bad dream and had wet the bed.

She walked towards Skye, "It's okay маленькая звезда."

She stopped in front of the sobbing girl. Natasha was surprised that her mom and dad hadn't heard and come running in by now.

Skye used her arm to wipe her nose, "No it's not! I had a bad dream and wet the bed and May and Phil don't know that I do that sometimes and they'll send me back cause I'm a _problem_."

What was she talking about? "What? No Skye, it was an accident! Mom and dad are never going to send you back." Didn't the little girl get that by now?

Skye gave her a disbelieving look, "Yes they will Nattie! You can't tell them! Please, don't tell them!"

Skye was looking at her so desperately that Nat would've promised her anything, but she had to make sure the girl knew that her parents wouldn't send her back to the orphanage over a stupid accident. "Skye, it was an accident! They aren't going to send you away."

Skye looked at the ground and started crying harder, "Oh Skye."

Natasha started rubbing her back in what she hoped was a comforting manner. Skye suddenly launched herself into her arms. She had to take a step back to regain her balance, but once she did, she wrapped her arms around the crying girl. She must really be upset to be hugging.

Natasha started swaying them and Skye's cries quieted down a little. She kneeled down in front of her, "Let's clean this up okay?"

Skye nodded and Natasha finished stripping off the bed. There was still a wet spot on the mattress because Skye didn't have a protective sheet. She would have to tell her mom that she should probably buy some.

She opened one of the drawers in Skye's dresser and pulled out a new nightgown and underwear. She led Skye out of her room and into the bathroom. She instructed the little girl to get undressed as she turned the shower on and checked the temperature. "Okay Skye, you rinse yourself off and I'm going to throw these in the washing machine," she motioned towards the soiled clothes and sheets. The little girl was still silently crying, but she nodded and stepped into the shower.

Natasha didn't feel comfortable leaving Skye alone for long, so she quietly jogged to the laundry room and loaded up the washer. She put in the detergent and pressed start before jogging back to the bathroom. Skye was still in the shower when she got there, so she sat on the toilet lid and made sure she made a little bit of noise so that the little girl knew that she was there.

"Skye, mom and dad won't care that you wet the bed. It was an accident."

There was such a long pause before Skye answered her that Nat thought that she was ignoring her, "They all mind."

Natasha's heart broke a little bit at that. All of Skye's guardians made her feel terrified to tell them when she wet the bed.

"You know my mom and dad are different. They're _good_ Skye. A lot of foster parents aren't, but they are."

Skye didn't answer her, she just poked her head out and Natasha took that as the signal that she was done. She reached in to turn off the water and pulled a towel out of the closet before wrapping Skye up in it. She helped her dry off before handing the little girl her new clothes and helping her get dressed.

When Skye was done getting dressed, she had finally stopped crying but was still staring determinedly at the ground. Natasha kneeled in front of her again and brushed her damp hair out of her eyes, "It's okay Skye. Everyone's wet the bed before, it was just an accident."

Skye looked at her with watery eyes and hugged her again. She was just full of hugs tonight and, even though the circumstances weren't ideal, Natasha was glad that Skye was opening up to her. She hugged her back for a minute and then stood up and lifted Skye up with her. The little girl wrapped her legs around her and leaned her head against Nat's chest. She walked them back towards her room but stopped back in Skye's to grab Alice. The mattress was wet and there was no way Skye was sleeping on it tonight.

Skye lifted her head when Natasha stopped by her own bed, "Nattie, this is your room, not mine."

She sounded adorably confused and Nat couldn't help but smile, "I know маленькая звезда, but your mattress is still wet and you can't sleep on it." Skye's cheeks started turning red and Nat could tell that she was embarrassed. "Besides, I couldn't sleep anyways and need someone to cuddle with. Are you up for it?" Skye seemed to really consider it before nodding.

Natasha gently set Skye onto her bed and watched her climb up and slide under the covers. She handed her Alice and climbed onto the other side of the bed after shutting off her lamp. Skye shuffled around awkwardly for a few seconds before Nat reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. The little girl stiffened for a second before relaxing and curling into her. It kind of felt like when Nat used to sleep with Alice when she was younger. It felt nice. She heard Skye's breathing slow down and deepen before she shut her eyes and _finally_ drifted off to sleep.

* * *

May wasn't surprised when she woke up in the middle of the night. She had been doing it every night since Skye came here. It was probably just nerves about caring for a new child, especially one that was younger than any of the other children they had cared for. She would get up, check on Skye and then fall back asleep like nothing happened. She had accidentally woken Phil up the first time she had done it, but now he slept through it.

She quietly rolled out of bed and walked down the hallway. When she spotted Skye's door, she was surprised to find it shut, especially since she knew that she had left it halfway open. Skye didn't like to sleep with the door shut. Maybe she had gotten up to go to the bathroom and had shut it by accident. Either way, May felt herself speeding up. She opened Skye's door and peered inside. She didn't see Skye.

She felt herself starting to panic. She flipped the lights on and felt her throat start to close as she looked at the empty bed. Where the hell was Skye and why didn't her mattress have any sheets on it? Did she run away? That didn't make any sense.

She frantically looked around Skye's room. She flung open the closet and searched under the bed but she couldn't find Skye. She got up and ran to the bathroom, hoping to find her in there. She let out a groan of frustration and panic when she saw that it was empty.

She had lost her little girl. Before she allowed herself to fully freak out and wake Phil up, she pushed back her panic and thought that maybe Skye was with Trip or Natasha.

She peered into Trip's room but only saw him sleeping horizontally on his bed. She sent up a quick little prayer and opened Nat's door. She breathed out a huge sigh of relief when she saw Skye's little body curled into Nat's. God, her heart was beating so fast.

She walked up to Skye, wanting to make sure that she was safe and injury free. She checked over the little girl and she seemed fine. She had Alice gripped tight in one hand and her other one was tucked under her sleeping face. She was curled into Natasha and the older girls arm was wrapped around her waist.

Knowing that Skye was safe was a giant relief, but she was now fully awake after that utterly terrifying experience. She turned to leave, but her foot accidentally bumped against the bedside table. She cringed and looked back to the two girls. Skye shifted a little but stayed asleep. Natasha blearily blinked and squinted at her, "Mom?" she kept her voice soft but it was gravely with sleep.

She whispered, "Sorry sweetie. I was looking for Skye. Why's she in here?"

Natasha looked a little uncertain but answered anyways, "She wet the bed. She was really afraid to tell you guys, so I helped her out."

Oh. That actually made a lot more sense than her earlier 'running away' theory. She felt a little embarrassed about her _slight_ overreaction.

"Okay. Thanks for helping her out baby. We'll talk about it tomorrow morning, but for now, go back to sleep. I love you."

Natasha smiled sleepily at her and then closed her eyes. May made her way out of the room and quietly shut the door.

It made sense that Skye was afraid to tell them she wet her bed. She was a frightened, abused little girl. Her reaction made s _ense_ , but May still felt a little guilty and sad about it. She had hoped that they were making progress with Skye. Her recent displays of affection and trust were proof of that. She had hoped that maybe Skye would stop being so afraid of them by now. She knew that that was a silly hope, that it would take time before Skye fully trusted them, but she still wanted that nonetheless. She knew that it was going to take time and dedication to get through to Skye that they weren't going to hurt her, but both she and Phil were ready to commit to that. She knew that they were making slight progress already.

Keeping that in mind, she pushed aside her feelings of guilt. They would talk to Skye tomorrow and make sure she knew that they weren't mad at her and that she could come to them if anything happened. She knew that it would take awhile for Skye to fully trust them, but she was willing to work for it.

* * *

What'd you guys think? It's so much fun to write Fitzsimmons you guys :)

Please let me know what you guys think of this fic. I've planned out some of it and I think it'll probably end up being between 20-30 chapters (I'm probably underestimating here). Also, please tell me how you guys would feel about those one-shots.

You guys are amazing. Thanks for sticking with me and continually being awesome :) xx -Ariel


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! There's some new characters in this chapter that I'm really excited about! I hope you all like it :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

* * *

When Skye woke up, she was disoriented. Where was she? These dark colored walls were not her own. Then, last night came flooding back to her. She had been having a really bad dream about monsters and had woken up to find that she had wet the bed. She had been frantically trying to destroy the evidence when Natasha had found her. Her cheeks heated up when she remembered. She still felt nervous about Phil and May finding out. When she had wet the bed at the Ramsey's, they had yelled at her. She knew that May and Phil were nicer than the Ramsey's, but she didn't know what they would do.

Natasha hadn't yelled at her or called her stupid or a _nything_. She had comforted her and helped her clean up. Natasha was awesome. Speaking of her, Skye looked over to see that Natasha was still sleeping. She had one arm thrown haphazardly over her head and the other one was still wrapped around Skye. Her legs were tangled up in her sheets and her mouth was open a little. She looked peaceful when she slept. Skye could tell that she wasn't having any bad dreams. Maybe she was dreaming about ice cream or puppies or her friends.

Skye didn't want to wake her up so she stayed still and waited for her to wake up on her own. She looked at Natasha's windows and could see that it was still dark outside. Skye sighed. She knew that Natasha didn't like waking up unless she had to. Skye would be waiting for a little while.

After a couple of minutes of just staring at Natasha, she felt herself slowly falling back asleep and she welcomed it.

The next time she woke up, it was because she heard a voice whispering in her ear. She made a noise and rolled over, trying to escape the sound.

She heard a laugh, "Come on маленькая звезда. Dad is making breakfast and I'm starving."

She rolled back over and opened up one eye. It was light in the room and Skye could see that the sun was up. She _never_ slept this late. She felt good though, like she was really energized and could run around all day. She didn't normally feel like this.

She glanced at Natasha and saw that the older girl was leaning on her elbow and smiling down at her. She didn't look like she was mad about last night.

Skye's voice was raspy with sleep, "Hi."

"Good morning маленькая звезда. Let's go. I smell bacon and we need to get to it before Trip does." Natasha smiled again and hopped out of bed. Skye got up a little slower, but was fully awake when she heard Natasha mention bacon. She loved bacon.

"I'll race you Skye. I bet you I can beat you to the table."

Skye looked up at the challenge. She _never_ turned down a dare. Natasha looked sure of herself and Skye felt herself start to smile, "I'm gonna beat you Nattie!" and she bolted out of the room. She was running down the stairs and could hear Natasha running behind her, "Hey! You cheated!"

Skye couldn't stop herself. She started laughing.

* * *

May was helping Phil make breakfast. She was surprised that Skye wasn't awake yet, but she knew that the smell of bacon would get their kids down here pretty quickly.

"We just need to make sure that Skye knows that we aren't mad at her and that she can come to us for anything." She had filled Phil in on the whole situation and they were talking about how they should approach Skye about it. She was cutting up some fruit while Phil was cooking the bacon.

They were standing next to each other and she felt Phil wrap an arm around her waist and press a kiss to her head, "I know honey. I want Skye to feel comfortable around us. She'll learn to trust us."

He sounded sure of himself and May let his confidence leak into her, "I hope so Phil. She's already made so much progress."

He smiled at that, "I know. She let me pick her up the other day."

May had been so happy when Skye hadn't flinched away from Phil in the ice cream shop. She knew Phil was struggling to make sure that Skye felt safe around him, and she knew that he had been ecstatic when she had allowed him to carry her.

She was about to answer him when she heard little feet running around upstairs, "Here comes the cavalry. Brace yourself." She started pulling out plates and glasses.

She was in the middle of pouring orange juice into a cup for Skye when she heard it. It was laughter. It wasn't Natasha or Trip's distinctive laughter. It was a higher pitched. It had to be Skye's and it sounded beautiful.

She was laughing.

They had never heard her laugh before.

She immediately looked at Phil and saw that his eyes were wide. He appeared to be just as surprised as she was.

* * *

Skye skidded into the dining room and grabbed the nearest chair to help steady herself, "I beat you Nattie! I won." She smiled proudly and looked up at the older girl.

Natasha was smiling at her, "Yeah yeah. You won even though you _cheated_."

"You didn't say _when_ we were starting. I thought you meant right away," Skye said innocently.

She saw Natasha scoff, "Of course you did маленькая звезда. Let's eat. I'm starving."

She led Skye into the kitchen and they both gave each other confused looks when they saw May and Phil. They were both staring at her with wide eyes. May was in the middle of pouring orange juice into a cup and Phil was neglecting the bacon. What was going on?

Both adults snapped out of it when Natasha said, "Is that bacon ready dad? We need to grab some before Trip wakes up."

Phil finished cooking the bacon and set it on a plate. He handed it to Nat while May handed her a bowl of fruit, "Why don't you go eat sweetie. We need to talk to Skye real fast."

Natasha nodded, gave Skye a smile and then walked away.

Oh no. They wanted to _talk_ to her. In Skye's experience, when adults said they wanted to _talk_ to you, it usually meant they wanted to _yell_ at you. She braced herself and looked down to the floor.

They must have seen how uncomfortable she was because May said, "We aren't mad at you Skye, we just want to talk to you about what happened last night."

Of course they knew that Skye had wet the bed already. Her mattress didn't have any sheets on it and there was probably still a wet spot on it. Skye still wished that they had never found out about it. Natasha was right last night, May and Phil were _good_ , but Skye didn't know what they would do about this.

She was still staring at the ground but heard Phil speak, "What happened Skye?"

Skye started fidgeting but mumbled, "I had a bad dream."

Phil's voice sounded really kind, "Do you have bad dreams a lot?"

Yes. Skye wished they would go away but they never do. She started thinking about all of her bad dreams, about the monsters and the car accident and the Ramsey's, and she felt her eyes starting to well up with tears. They were really scary dreams and Skye wished they would stop.

Skye sniffled and nodded.

She saw May's feet move towards her and she let her because they were being really nice to her, "Oh sweetie, I wish you would've told us what happened. We could've helped you."

She felt May's hand start to stroke her hair. It felt nice, but she continued to look at the ground, "I didn't want you to be mad at me and take me back."

Now she saw Phil's feet move closer and she let him. He was being really nice to her too. "Skye, I told you that we were _never_ going to take you back, remember? That's never going to change, especially because of a little accident."

Skye still had trouble believing that.

She felt May's hand move to cup her cheek and gently guide her to look up, "We just want you to know that if that ever happens again, you can come and tell us. Even when you have just a nightmare, you can come and tell us. We won't mind and we won't get mad, okay?"

They weren't going to yell at her. They had really just wanted to talk. Skye couldn't believe it. May and Phil were so _good_. They were good and nice and they didn't yell or make her feel stupid. They talked to her like she was a grown up and they didn't scare her or do bad things. They took her to get new clothes and got her ice cream and made her feel better when she was scared. They let her play with her friends and took her to the playground. They were just _good_. Skye didn't know how she had been so lucky to be able to live with them, but she hoped she never had to leave.

The thought of leaving May and Phil made the tears in her eyes spill over. She didn't want to live with anyone else ever again.

May and Phil didn't know what she was really crying over, they thought she was upset because she wet the bed, but she didn't correct them. She just let May pull her into a hug and listened as she said soothing words and Phil rubbed her back comfortingly. She buried her face into May's neck and tried to get the tears to stop.

When they finally did, May and Phil both gave her a comforting smile and stepped back. Skye wiped her nose and felt a little embarrassed. She had cried a lot in the last week. She needed to stop acting like a baby.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Phil looked concerned for her and Skye felt a little less embarrassed. They didn't seem to mind that she cried a lot.

She nodded.

May smiled, "Okay, now that that's all taken care of, let's go eat." They all walked into the dining room and saw that Trip was sitting across from Natasha. They were both eating and bickering over something.

Skye sat next to Natasha and the older girl slid some bacon onto her plate. She whispered to her, "I saved you some bacon. When Trip came down, he ate, like, _all_ of it."

She smiled gratefully at her older sister and started eating.

Phil was making his coffee when he said, "So, does anyone have any plans for today?"

Natasha spoke up, "Nah, I was going to hang with the guys, but Steve's still sick and he ended up getting Bucky sick when he visited him. Clint might come over later though, just depends on if his parents aren't too mad at him for skipping school yesterday."

Trip said, "I have an English assignment coming up that I was going to get started on. It's actually not that bad. We have to choose a movie from our childhood and write about how it influenced our beliefs and if it had any impact on our development. I was just going to watch movies all day until I found one that was easy enough to write about.

"You get to watch movies all day for homework?" Skye wished that that was her homework. Ms. Hill gave her a lot of worksheets to do and they were pretty hard.

Trip turned to her, "Not usually, but this time yeah. You wanna watch them with me?"

Did she ever. Skye _loved_ watching movies. Maybe she could get Trip to watch Rapunzel with her, "Yes!"

Natasha looked at them, "I'll go grab some from the playroom."

May and Phil got up and grabbed everyone's dishes before moving into the kitchen to clean up. Skye followed Trip into the living room and sat down on the floor in front of the t.v. He grabbed all of the pillows from the couch and spread them onto the floor. He handed one to Skye and she leaned on it.

"You can help me pick which movie to do Skye."

Skye felt very important when he said that. Trip wanted _her_ to pick to movie that he was going to write about for his homework.

"Okay. I'll pick a really good one, I promise."

He grinned at her before saying, "I know you will," he paused for a second before rubbing a hand over the back of his neck and continuing, "Hey Skye? I know we haven't really hung out all that much since you got here, but I want you to know that I really like having you for a little sister."

Skye didn't really know what to say to that. All she knew was that it made her really happy to hear Trip say that, so she smiled brightly at him.

He smiled back at her and all of a sudden Natasha came running back into the room with a stack of DVD's in her hand. "Okay guys, I only grabbed the best. We've got Lilo and Stitch, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, Mulan, and the old-time classic, Cinderella."

Trip groaned, "Nat, I _hate_ Cinderella. You know that."

She smirked at him and took Cinderella out of its case before popping it into the DVD player, "I know. That's why we're watching it first."

Trip groaned but before he could say anything else, Skye said, "I think Cinderella is pretty. I wish I had a fairy godmother like she did."

Natasha grinned triumphantly before saying, "See? Skye likes it too. It's two against one, so shhhh, it's about to start."

Trip didn't say anything, he just rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at her. She easily caught it and sat down on the other side of Skye.

They finished Cinderella and immediately put Mulan in after it. Skye thought Cinderella was good, but she didn't know if it was the one Trip should do his project on. May and Phil wandered in and watched Mulan with them. Trip got up and pretended to do the fight sequences that the characters were doing and Skye giggled at him. Natasha and May sang the Reflection song to her and that made Skye giggle even harder. They were purposefully being as dramatic as possible.

After Mulan, they took a quick break and had sandwiches for lunch. Skye went upstairs and grabbed Alice before running back to the living room and sitting in her spot between Natasha and Trip.

Next they watched Lady and the Tramp. Skye had never seen this movie before and she loved watching all the dogs. She thought it was funny that the dogs were eating spaghetti and meatballs. They aren't supposed to eat human food! She liked it, but thought that Mulan was better.

Next they watched The Lion King. Before they started it, May and Phil brought everyone popcorn and Trip said that his friends, Bobbi, Hunter, and Mack, might be coming over soon. Natasha also asked if Clint could come over and May and Phil said yes. They all sat down and started watching the movie. They were at the part where Scar was singing his song about being prepared when there was a knock at the door. Trip paused the movie and got up to answer it.

When Trip opened up the door, there were three people standing on the other side of it. Skye didn't know them. They started talking loudly and laughing and Skye scrambled back until she bumped into Natasha. The older girl pulled her into her lap and wrapped her arms around Skye's middle. That made her feel safer.

The three people followed Trip into the living room and all said hello to May, Phil and Natasha. One of them was the guy who always drove Nattie and Trip to school. She thinks his name is Hunter, but she isn't sure. The other one is a _really_ tall guy. He has big arm muscles and brown eyes. He was smiling, but he was still intimidating. The other one was a really pretty girl. She has blonde hair and really pretty eyes. She was tall too and was wearing a purple shirt. The girl was really pretty and she was smiling at Skye.

"Is this your new little sister?" She was talking to Trip but still smiling at Skye. She didn't look like she was mean.

Natasha answered before Trip could, "Bobbi, this is Skye. Skye, that's Bobbi, Mack and Hunter. They're all really nice so you don't have to be afraid of them."

Skye nodded and shyly waved at the three new people. They were all standing by Trip and staring down at her, it was a little scary, even though Natasha said that she didn't have to be afraid of them.

One of them, Hunter, leaned down so that he was eye level with Skye, "It's great to finally meet you Skye. Trip's told us a lot about you."

He talked like Jemma talked. He sounded funnier than she did though and it made Skye smile a little. He didn't sound mean and he saw smiling at her.

"You sound funny."

That made Bobbi and Trip laugh. Bobbi smiled conspiratorially at her, "He does sound funny, doesn't he?"

Bobbi elbowed Hunter and Skye looked at him to make sure she hadn't hurt his feelings by saying that he talked funny. He didn't look upset and he was still smiling at her.

Everyone made themselves comfortable on the floor and May and Phil brought out more popcorn. "We're trying to find a movie that I can use for Mrs. Jerry's class."

Hunter groaned, "I haven't even started thinking about that project yet."

Mack laughed, "I'm not in that class. No paper for me."

Hunter playfully punched his arm, "You're lucky mate. Mrs. Jerry _loves_ giving us projects to do."

Bobbie smiled, "I finished mine. I wrote about Tangled. It's pretty good," She turned to Hunter, "You can read it over so you know what an A paper looks like." Hunter scoffed at that and elbowed Bobbi.

Skye perked up when she heard Bobbi say that she wrote her paper about Rapunzel. Did she like that movie too? "You wrote about Rapunzel?"

Bobbi looked over to her, "Yeah, she's my favorite princess. I like her little chameleon friend. Oh dang it, I forgot his name, but he's so funny."

Skye crawled out of Natasha's lap and stood up, "Pascal! His name's Pascal! I like him too!"

She was grinning excitedly and Bobbi was smiling at her. Skye couldn't stop herself from saying, "Rapunzel is my favorite person ever! She was really brave when she stood up to her fake mom even though she was really scary."

"She was very brave." Bobbi's voice was kind and Skye was smiling at her. She liked Bobbi. Bobbi liked her favorite princess too and she was being nice and talking to her.

Skye turned around when she heard May speak, "Skye, we don't have the Rapunzel DVD, but we can get it if you want."

She didn't want May to have to buy her stuff all the time, but she _really_ wanted to have the Rapunzel DVD, "You don't have to May."

May gave her a pointed look, "Remember what I said when we went clothes shopping? We like getting you things, okay?"

"Okay." She sat back down next to Natasha but kept on smiling.

Trip started the Lion King back up and they all watched it. At some point, Clint wandered in and sat down on the other side of Natasha. He quietly said hi to Skye before he focused on the movie. Hunter and Clint pretended to be Simone and Pumba and repeated everything they said in silly voices. Bobbi and Natasha laughed at them and Skye couldn't help but grin. They sounded silly.

They finished the Lion King and put in Lilo and Stitch. Mack spoke up, "This one is way better than The Lion King."

Clint sucked in a breath and pretended to sound offended, "Are you telling me that you actually think Lilo and Stitch is better than The Lion King? Are you nuts?"

Mack shot an amused glance at Hunter before saying, "No, I just have better taste than you."

Clint huffed but was smiling. Everyone quieted down and they watched the last movie.

Skye had never seen in before, but she liked it right away. Throughout the movie, she found herself inching closer and closer to the screen. There was something about Lilo that made her feel connected to the character. She had lost her mommy and daddy and other kids were mean to her too. She really liked the part where Stitch said that Lilo and Nani were his new family.

When the movie was over, May and Phil started gathering up all the empty bowls of popcorn.

"So Skye, which one should I write about?" Trip was staring at her and everyone else in the room turned to her too.

She shrunk back a little as everyone focused on her, but she knew which one she had decided on, "Lilo and Stitch. Because they didn't have a real family, but they made their own one."

May and Phil smiled at her and Trip nodded, "Alright. That's the one I'll write about."

Skye was happy that Trip liked her answer. May and Phil took the bowls into the kitchen and said that they were going to start making dinner.

Skye looked around at everyone else in the living room. They were all still looking at her. She crawled back into Natasha's lap.

"I'm kind of sick of watching t.v., which is something I never thought I would say. Let's go out back and play soccer or something," Trip glanced around at everyone and they nodded and got up.

"Let's go Skye, you can be on my team," Natasha tugged her up and Skye smiled gratefully at her.

"Hey! I wanted her to be on my team." Trip walked over to them.

"We can all be on the same team dummy. How about me, you, Skye and Bobbi versus Mack, Clint and Hunter?"

Bobbi said, "Sounds good to me," she poked Hunter in the chest before saying, "You're going down."

He grinned before saying, "Oh it's on!"

* * *

What'd you guys think. Let me know if you guys liked or hated this chapter and please tell me what you think of this story so far! I love hearing from you.

I was going to have Skye pick Mulan for the movie she wanted Trip to write about, but then I realized how much of a connection she might feel to Lilo and Stitch. I hope you liked it! Thank you so much for reading xx -Ariel


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! This new chapter is all in May's point of view and I actually had some trouble writing it, but I think it turned out okay. I hope you guys like it!**

 **I'd like to thank whitetiger1249 for giving me an idea that I put into this chapter. I hope you like it :)**

 **As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

* * *

May finished cleaning up the dishes from dinner. She had called the kids in to eat and they had quickly eaten their food and gone back outside to finish their soccer game before it got too dark out. She was watching them through the window in the kitchen. More specifically, she was watching Skye. She was happy to see that the little girl wasn't scared of the bigger kids and was having fun.

The older kids were dotting on little Skye. They would purposefully fumble a kick or let the ball go into their makeshift goal just so that Skye felt special. May loved all of them for that. They were a great bunch of kids. She moved out of the kitchen and sat down on the couch next to her husband. The t.v. was finally free and he was watching some action movie. She put her feet in his lap and leaned against the arm of the couch.

"Aren't you sick of watching movies?" She sure as hell was. She had no idea how her kids had been able to sit on the floor all day and watch movie after movie.

Phil glanced at her before looking back to the t.v. screen. He started massaging her foot and May let out an involuntary groan. He smirked, "I'm sick of watching _children's_ movies. There's only so many musical numbers I can take."

He turned the volume down and turned to her, "Did you see Skye earlier? She got so excited about Rapunzel that she forgot to be afraid of the other kids. We need to go buy that movie."

May chuckled but agreed, "At least she's letting us buy her stuff now. It wasn't easy convincing her to let me buy her some new clothes."

"May, she's doing so much better. Remember when she first got here? I didn't think I'd ever hear her laugh, but look at her now. She's like a whole new kid." Phil was smiling and it felt contagious.

May smiled back at him, "I know, but keep in mind that certain things still frighten her."

Phil gave her a look, "I know honey. But it's just great to see her act like a kid. That little girl deserves to be happy."

She couldn't agree more. Skye deserved happiness and safety and a normal childhood. Unfortunately, she already had a pretty abnormal childhood so far, but she and Phil were determined to give her as normal of one as they could provide.

She was about to say something when she heard Trip calling them. They looked at each other and stood up. They turned and found Trip walking in with Skye in his arms. May could see that she was gingerly holding her wrist to her chest, but at least she wasn't crying. It couldn't be too bad.

Trip gently placed Skye on the couch and looked guiltily at her. May didn't like that look, "What happened?"

She saw Phil lean down to check out Skye's wrist from the corner of her eye but stayed focused on Trip, "We were playing and I must not have seen Skye because I kicked the ball and she ended up tripping over my foot and falling. I think she landed on her wrist." He anxiously looked over to Skye, "I'm so sorry Skye."

The little girl looked up at him and said, "It's okay. It was my fault."

May leaned forward and pushed her bangs out of her eyes, "It wasn't anyone's fault baby. It was an accident okay? Next time, we'll just be more careful, right?" She gave a pointed look to Trip and he guiltily nodded. Skye nodded to and winced a little as Phil gingerly prodded her wrist.

Phil looked at Skye when he spoke, "Nothing seems broken sweetie, just bruised. I'll go get some ice to put on it. I'll check it again tomorrow and see if we should wrap it up." Skye thanked Phil and he walked into the kitchen to grab some ice.

May looked at the group of kids standing in her living room, "You guys can go back outside and finish your game. Skye will be fine."

Trip still looked guilty and everyone else looked worried and she practically had to push them outside, but they went back to their game. Phil came back into the living room and sat down next to Skye. He placed a pillow in Skye's lap and instructed her to lay her wrist on it. He then gently laid the ice over her wrist.

"We'll just leave that on there for about twenty minutes, okay?" Skye nodded at him and May took a seat on the other side of the little girl.

May grabbed the remote and threw an apologetic look at Phil before saying, "Let's see if Spongebob is on!" Skye nodded enthusiastically and settled into the couch. May could hear Phil's quiet groan but he stayed and watched it with them, making comments on how he thought a Krabby Patty would taste and how he wished he could live in a pineapple like Spongebob did. He made Skye laugh and when he did, he would catch May's eye and smile brightly. They both loved hearing the little girl laugh.

Once the twenty minutes was up, Phil took the ice off of Skye's wrist and May looked at the little girl, "I think it's shower time sweetie. You're pretty dirty." Skye had dirt all over her legs, hands and face and she was still a little sweaty from running around.

Skye nodded and hopped off the couch before following May upstairs. They stopped in Skye's room to grab some pajamas and then went into the bathroom.

They ran into a little problem as soon as Skye tried to start undressing herself. "I know you like to undress yourself, but I don't think you'll be able to with that wrist of yours. I might have to give you a hand when you wash your hair too. Is it okay if I help?"

Skye considered that for a minute. Her face was thoughtful and May was actually a little concerned that she would say no, but then the little girl nodded and lifted her hands above her head so that May could take her dirty shirt off.

As May was taking Skye's shirt off, she spotted two circular scars on Skye's tummy, right by her belly button. She paused for a second as she stared at them but then finished taking the shirt off. She had never seen them before. Probably because Skye had never allowed her to get this close to her while she was undressing before.

"Skye? Where did those come from?" She motioned towards the scars and Skye looked away from her.

She thought that Skye wasn't going to answer her, that she had struck a nerve and that the little girl would draw back into herself like she did when she had first arrived. She saw Skye suck in a deep breath before muttering, "He said I was bad."

"What do you mean baby?"

Skye was still looking away from her, "He said I was bad, so he poked me in the tummy twice with the bad smelling stick. It was really hot."

May felt anger flood through her. Skye was saying that someone burned her with a cigarette. Because they thought that she was _bad_. An adult had actually done this to a child. _Her_ child. She tried not to let her anger show on her face. She didn't want Skye to think that she was mad at her.

Skye refused to look at her and May was overwhelmed with what she was feeling. Someone had harmed Skye and Skye actually thought that it was her fault. She could not believe that an adult had done that to her. She wanted to cry for Skye. This little girl had been through too much.

She sat down cross-legged on the floor, "Oh Skye. You weren't bad okay? The person who did this to you was bad. No one should _ever_ purposefully hurt someone else. This was not your fault okay?"

Skye finally looked at her and May's heart broke a little. Skye had tears swimming in her eyes and she looked so broken, "He said it was my fault because I was bad."

May had to push back her anger. Skye didn't need any more anger in her life. "It was _not_ your fault. There is no way that what he did to you can be justified. You didn't do anything wrong sweetie, he did."

By the time she was done talking, Skye was crying. May wanted to hug her but she didn't know if Skye would like that right now. Instead, Skye surprised her by crawling into her lap and wrapping one arm around her neck in a hug. She kept her hurt wrist cradled to her chest but buried her face into May's neck. May wrapped both arms around the little girl and rocked them back and forth.

Her heart broke for Skye. This little girl didn't deserve anything that had happened to her. She got dealt a terrible hand in life and May wished more than anything that she could erase all of her pain, but she knew she couldn't, so she just hoped she was helping to repair some of the damage made by her past.

Skye finally started to quiet down and May rubbed a hand soothingly down her back. The little girl moved away so that she wasn't plastered to May anymore but stayed in her arms, "May, you're the best foster mom I've ever had," she paused and looked away before continuing, "can I stay with you for awhile?"

Didn't Skye get it by now? If May had anything to say about it, and she did, Skye would be staying with them forever. She and Phil never gave up on children that needed them. "Skye, you're going to stay with us forever, remember?"

Skye looked back to her and May saw hope sparkling in her big brown eyes. Maybe Skye didn't fully believe them yet, but that just meant that she and Phil had to keep working towards gaining her trust.

"Okay little one, let's get you into the shower." She helped Skye stand up before she finished undressing her and guided her into the shower. She let Skye close the curtains and only helped when the little girl absolutely needed it. She didn't want to invade Skye's personal space. When Skye was done, she dried her off, helped her put on her pajamas and brushed her hair.

It was still about an hour or so before Skye's bedtime so they went back downstairs and found Phil and the rest of the children lounging around in the living room. Instead of watching t.v., they appeared to be playing charades. It had been ages since she had seen _anyone_ play that game.

Clint was in the middle of some crazy, monkey like dance. The others were shouting words at him and she could tell that he was getting a little frustrated that no one was guessing correctly.

She felt a tug on her hand and looked down to Skye. Worried brown eyes looked up at her, "May, is Clint okay? Why are they yelling at him?" She sounded a little scared and was still cradling her wrist to her chest. She should probably put some more ice on it.

She led the little girl into the kitchen and lifted her onto the counter before grabbing some ice and putting it into a Ziploc bag. She placed it on Skye's wrist and answered her, "Clint is fine sweetie. They're just playing charades."

Skye's nose scrunched up adorably, "What's shrariades?"

May couldn't help but chuckle a little, "It's _charades_ sweetie. And it's a game where you get a word and have to act it out so that people can guess what your word is. The only rule is that you can't talk. It can be pretty hard sometimes."

Skye glanced back towards the living room. Clint was still doing his terrible monkey dance. She looked back to May, "Why is everyone shouting at him though?"

"Well, they're probably really excited about the game. They aren't shouting to be mean, they're shouting because they're excited."

"Oh."

"Do you want to go watch?"

Skye nodded and May lifted her off the counter, but kept her in her arms and placed her on her hip. Skye made sure the ice stayed on her wrist as they walked into the living room.

They heard Phil say that they gave up and Clint groaned loudly, "You guys! I was 'the missing link'. Come on now!"

Natasha laughed at him, "The only thing you're missing is some brain cells. How were we supposed to know that? You were just jumping around!"

Clint was about to say something back but he spotted Skye and smiled at her, "Our little princess has returned! How's your wrist Skye?"

Everyone looked towards the little girl and May heard her say, "It's okay."

Mack said, "You are one tough cookie Skye. You're like a warrior princess."

Bobbi agreed with him, "Yeah Skye. You're like Rapunzel when she helped Flynn fight off the bad guys when they were chasing them through the tunnel."

May had no idea what she was talking about, but when she looked at Skye, the little girl was smiling brightly. Apparently being compared to Rapunzel was a great thing because Skye was practically glowing. She really needed to watch that movie.

This time Trip spoke up, "Do you guys want to play?"

May answered for both her and Skye, "Skye's got to keep this ice on her wrist for about fifteen more minutes. We can watch and guess though." She looked at Skye and the little girl nodded at her.

"Great, it's dad's turn next, and I have a feeling this is going to be really funny."

Phil gave her an exasperated look but stood up and took a piece of paper out of the hat they were using. May took his seat and settled Skye onto her lap. Natasha was sitting next to her and her daughter pulled Skye's tiny legs onto her lap.

Phil read his piece of paper and groaned. This was going to be hilarious.

* * *

Thirty minutes later and they were still playing charades. May had taken the ice off of Skye's wrist and set it onto the table beside the couch. Natasha was doing some weird hand motion that no one understood and everyone was shouting random words, hoping that one of them was the right answer. Skye had remained silent the whole time they had been watching. May would occasionally guess a word, but if she were being honest, no one here was particularly good at this game. Skye had started leaning against May's chest and she could tell that the little girl was getting sleepy.

She looked over and saw Bobbi whisper something to Hunter. He passed the message along to Mack, Trip, Clint and Phil. Natasha finally gave up and sat back down next to Clint. Clint leaned over and whispered something into her ear. May got suspicious. What were they doing?

Bobbi stood up and made a big deal about picking a word out of the hat. She ran into the kitchen, grabbed a frying pan and ran back into the living room. What was she going to do with a pan? May was so confused. She glanced around and everyone was grinning.

Bobbi made sure that Skye was looking at her before she quickly put her hair into a braid and started swinging the pan and pretending that she was hitting something with it. She felt Skye sit up. Bobbi opened her mouth and it looked like she was singing. She was motioning towards her throat and then to her hair. She looked crazy to May.

Bobbi went back to pretending that she was hitting something with the pan and suddenly Skye said, "Rapunzel?"

Bobbi enthusiastically pointed at her and said, "Yes!" before sitting back down. Everyone congratulated the little girl and she could see that Skye was smiling brightly. She wanted to hug everyone in this room. They were being so kind to Skye.

It was Clint's turn again and so he stood up and picked a piece of paper out of the hat. Skye started leaning back against May and she knew that it was bedtime. Before Clint could start, she said, "Okay everyone, say goodnight to Skye. It's bedtime."

Everyone groaned and Skye looked up at her with sleepy eyes, "But I'm not tired May."

May could tell that she was lying, "I know you aren't sweetie, but it's still bedtime."

Skye didn't put up much of a fight. Everyone said goodnight to her and May carried her upstairs and into her room with Phil following them. Phil pulled back her covers and May gently placed the little girl onto her freshly made bed. She snuggled into her pillows and Phil tucked the sheets around her. They said goodnight and plugged in her nightlight, but before they could leave, Skye's voice stopped them, "Wait!"

They turned around and each sat on one side of Skye's bed. "Could you… could you guys tell me a story?" Skye was looking down at her polka dotted sheets as she asked them.

Phil spoke up, "Of course we can. Prepare yourself Skye, cause I'm an _amazing_ storyteller." May rolled her eyes, but she saw Skye grin and settle deeper into her pillows.

Phil took a deep breath and started, "Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a beautiful princess."

Skye interrupted him, "Where did she live?"

Phil looked a little lost so May decided to help him out, "She lived in a magical place called…Chicago." May hoped Skye had never heard of the city before.

Phil shot her a look but continued, "Yes, she lived in Chicago. She had beautiful brown hair and brown eyes and she had the kindest soul anyone had ever met. Everyone loved the princess. The only problem was that her parents were really mean to her. One day, after her parents had yelled at her, she decided that she wanted to run away and find new parents, so she saddled up her unicorn –"

Skye interrupted him again, "She had a unicorn! What was its name?"

May decided to leave this one up to Phil. He stuttered for a couple of seconds before saying, "Jameson. Its name was Jameson. She saddled up Jameson and they went off in search of better parents. On her way, she encountered mean trolls who tried to make her feel bad, but she was nothing but kind to them. They felt so guilty for being mean to her that they decided to help her with her adventure! They continued on their journey and stopped in a new kingdom." May put a gentle hand on Phil's shoulder to stop him from continuing.

He stopped talking and looked at Skye. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply. She was asleep. Phil let out a breath and whispered, "Thank god. I had no idea where I was going with that story."

May whispered back, "I noticed." They both stood up slowly so that they wouldn't wake Skye. She grabbed Alice from the floor and placed her next to Skye.

May looked at the small child sleeping in front of her and felt a surge of protectiveness wash through her as she thought back to Skye's scars. This was her daughter. She wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

* * *

So, for those of you who have never seen Tangled, it's basically just Rapunzel running around and hitting bad guys with her frying pan while trying to make her dream come true. It's actually a pretty good movie :)

Please let me know what you guys thought about this chapter! Did you like reading from May's POV?

Thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you for all you amazing reviewers. I love hearing what you guys have to say! :) xx -Ariel

P.S. an extra extra thank you to whitetiger1249 for the idea about Skye's scars.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! This chapter has a little Papa Phil moment in it and it's pretty much just a fluffy little family time chapter. More interesting things will start happening in the next chapter, I promise!**

 **I hope you guys like it and thank you for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

* * *

Skye noticed that it was lighter outside than it normally was when she woke up. She rolled over in her bed and stared at the stars on her ceiling. She didn't want to get up.

She finally groaned, grabbed Alice, and got out of bed.

She made her way downstairs and saw May and Phil sitting at the table eating cereal. Natasha and Trip must still be sleeping. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and walked up to May. Phil noticed her first and put down his newspaper, "Good morning sunshine! You want some cereal?"

Skye nodded and leaned against May. The older woman wrapped an arm around her and started stroking her hair.

"How about some Fruit Loops?" Phil was already standing when he asked. Skye nodded again and watched him walk into the kitchen.

"Did you sleep okay?" May was still stroking her hair and it made Skye feel even sleepier, so she forced herself to move away and take a seat at the head of the table.

"No bad dreams." Skye was relieved to say that. She hadn't dreamed of monsters or car accidents, instead she'd dreamed of stars and dolls.

May smiled at her and Phil walked in with a bowl full of cereal and placed it in front of her, "Here you go sweetheart." She smiled and thanked him before grabbing her spoon and digging in.

May looked over to her, "We have to go food shopping today and we may have to grab a few other things from the mall."

Skye nodded at her. She didn't like shopping that much because there was always a bunch of people around and she was afraid that she would get lost. That had already happened to her once before and she didn't like it. She never wanted that to happen again.

"We'll head out in about an hour or two, no rush." Phil picked up his newspaper and flipped through it. He pulled out a page and placed it in front of Skye. It had a bunch of boxes and there were drawings in each box. There was one where there was an unhappy looking cat trying to eat lasagna, but Skye couldn't read all of the words. She liked looking at the pictures though, so she traced them with her finger while she ate.

Natasha wandered down when Skye had finished eating and she was getting up to put her bowl in the sink. As she entered the dining room again, she saw Natasha sitting in the seat besides Phil with her head against the table. She groaned, "Why do mornings even exist?"

May smirked, "Sorry baby. No one likes them."

Skye had to agree with her there. Phil spoke up, "We're going food shopping today. Wanna join?"

Natasha lifted her head and looked over to him, "When?"

"Probably about an hour."

Natasha groaned again and let her head fall back to the table, "No thanks. I think I'll just stay here and procrastinate doing homework."

May chuckled at that, "Don't procrastinate too long."

Natasha just groaned again.

Skye climbed back into her chair and waited for May and Phil to finish eating. It kind of looked like Natasha had fallen back asleep, but she wasn't sure. Phil suddenly looked over to her, "Oh Skye! I'm so sorry! I forgot to ask about your wrist! How is it sweetie? Does it feel better than yesterday?"

Phil sounded guilty and when she looked over to May, the older woman looked guilty. She didn't know why. She unthinkingly rotated her wrist. It was still a little sore, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Skye was just happy to see that it hadn't bruised. "It's better than yesterday."

"That's great. Would you mind if I looked at it?" Skye shook her head and held out her arm so that Phil could inspect it. His fingers were cool when they softly grabbed her arm, but they felt nice. He prodded her wrist a little bit and it didn't even really hurt.

"It looks fine. No break, sprain, or bruising. You're all set Skye. Just make sure to take it easy for today."

Skye nodded at him and heard May speak up, "How about you go get ready baby? We'll leave in a little bit."

"Okay." She ran back upstairs and opened her closet. It had all of her new clothes in it and Skye still had trouble deciding what to wear because she loved everything. She grabbed a dark pink dress. It didn't have anything else on it, it was just pink, so she ran over to her dresser and rifled through it before she pulled out some tights. They were white with yellow polka dots. Skye got dressed and ran a brush through her hair. She thought back to the braids that Natasha had done for her on the first day of school and thought that maybe she could do them again.

She grabbed Alice and stared at her. The doll had been wearing the same purple dress and white shoes since Natasha had given her to Skye. She deserved some new clothes too. She went into the playroom and dug around in a bin, trying to find clothes for Alice. She spotted shorts right away, but had trouble finding a new shirt. She reached to the bottom of the bin and grinned triumphantly when she grabbed a blue shirt. She dressed her doll and smiled at her. There. Now they both had new clothes on.

She ran back downstairs and saw Natasha lounging on the couch. Trip must still be sleeping. She wandered over to the couch and climbed up. She sat down next to Natasha and the older girl changed the channel so that Spongebob was playing.

"Nattie? What does proclastinite mean?"

Natsasha glanced over to her, "You mean procrastinate?" When Skye nodded she said, "It means that you put off doing something. Like, I don't want to do my homework, so I'm probably going to put it off until later tonight."

Skye thought about that. She procrastinated all the time! "May and Phil help me with my homework, but they make me do it after school, so I can't pro...procrastinate."

"We've all been there kiddo. Wait a few years and they'll let you do it whenever you want, as long as it gets done."

A few years. Skye hoped she was here long enough to see if Natasha was right.

They watched the show for a few more minutes before May and Phil came downstairs, "Ready to go?" Skye nodded and they turned to Natasha, "We woke Trip up and told him we were leaving. He wasn't happy about it, but he's in charge. Call us if you need anything. We'll only be gone for a little while okay?"

Natasha glanced at them, "Yeah, yeah I know the drill."

Skye said goodbye to Natasha and they walked out the door. This time, before Skye climbed into the car, she said, "Phil, can we listen to Lilo and Stitch this time?"

Phil looked unsure, "Uhhh…" He glanced at May and she nodded at him, "Of course we can sweetie."

She grinned and climbed into her seat and Phil strapped her in. She tried to sing along to the songs but stopped and listened after a little while because she didn't know any of the words. The songs were really pretty and fun.

When they got to the mall, Skye hung back again. There were a lot of people walking around and she didn't want to get lost. She knew that May and Phil wouldn't _purposefully_ lose her, but it could still happen by accident. She tugged on Phil's hand, "Phil, I don't want you to lose me, okay?"

He smiled down at her, "Okay Skye. We would never lose you though sweetie."

She knew he meant it, but it could still happen. May _said_ that accidents happen all the time.

He was still looking down at her and May was watching them. She raised her arms and made grabby hands towards Phil, hoping he would get the hint. He did. Of course Phil did. He was good. He stooped down and lifted her up and set her on his hip. From up here, it didn't look like there was as many people and Skye felt safer.

May finally spoke, "How about you guys go to the play area while I go grab the things we need? It should only take me about a half hour, tops."

Phil looked at her, "How about it Skye? Do you want to go play or do you want to follow May around in a bunch of stores?" He made a sad face at the last part so Skye knew that he wanted to go to the play area instead.

She wanted to go play too but she didn't want to leave May all alone. She bit her lip and looked at May. Luckily, she didn't have to say anything because the older woman did for her, "Go have fun sweetie. I'll come find you guys when I'm ready to go."

Skye nodded and Phil carried her further into the mall while May turned and went in the opposite direction. Skye spotted the play area up ahead. It was in the middle of the mall and it had a bunch of play structures. The structures were shaped like different animals and kids were climbing all over them. It wasn't as cool as the playground by the house but it still looked fun.

They entered the play area and Skye could see a bunch of parents watching their kids and sitting on the benches that were placed around the playpen. Phil set her down but she hovered near him. She didn't want to get lost.

"You can go play sweetie. I'll go sit over there." Phil motioned towards a bench and Skye nodded. She didn't move though, just fidgeted from foot to foot.

"I promise Skye, I won't lose you. Go and have fun kiddo." He waited there until Skye slowly moved away and started climbing on a small monkey bar. She saw him sit down on a bench and wave to her. She waved back.

She continued playing in the playpen for a little while. She climbed over everything and hung upside down from the monkey bars. The whole time, she made sure that she could see Phil and that made her feel much better.

She was currently playing on a structure that looked like a lion. She would climb up it, jump off, and then start all over again. She waved at Phil and he was smiling at her. She was in the middle of climbing up the lion when she felt like she was being watched. She tilted her head. Of course she was being watched! Phil had been keeping an eye on her the whole time they had been here! She tried to ignore it and finished climbing up the lion. She still felt like she was being watched and it didn't feel like it was just Phil. She stood on top of the lion and looked around. Other than Phil, no one was staring at her. She shrugged and jumped.

She got sick of jumping off the lion and wandered back over to Phil, "Did you see me climb up that lion? I jumped off of it even though it was really high up!" She was pretty proud of herself. She didn't really like heights, but it had been fun to jump off the play structure. She felt like a sky diver when she did it.

Phil chuckled and pushed her bangs out of her eyes, "I sure did sweetie. It was very impressive."

She was about to say something else when the lady sitting beside him turned to her. Skye shrunk back into Phil even though the lady was smiling at her. There was a little girl playing with a pretty doll sitting by the lady's feet and she looked up at Skye for a second before going back to her doll. Skye wished she had brought Alice. The lady had blue eyes and brown hair, so did the little girl sitting next to her. She kept smiling at them and said to Phil, "Isn't your daughter adorable!"

Phil smiled and thanked her. She continued talking, "She's very beautiful. She's going to be a heartbreaker one day," Skye didn't know what that meant but she didn't think she liked it. She listened as the lady kept talking, "She has such delicate features! Especially for a child of mixed race."

Phil gently grabbed her hand and tugged her so that she was standing on the other side of him, away from the lady. "Excuse me?" Phil sounded like he was getting angry.

The lady was still smiling, "Oh! I'm sorry, I just assumed that her mother is Asian?" When Phil didn't say anything, she kept on talking. This lady talked a _lot_ , "I just mean that mixed children can sometimes look a little…intriguing, but this little girl is adorable!"

She couldn't see Phil's face, but she could see that he looked tense. The lady must have said something bad but Skye couldn't figure out what it was. She took a step back. "My daughter is none of your concern, lady. And, if I may, if you ever say anything about my kid's race again, you better believe that you'll regret it."

She lady instantly stopped smiling. Her mouth opened and looked like an 'o' and her eyes grew wide. She looked funny. Phil stood up and led Skye out of the play area before stopping. Skye had never heard Phil talk like that before. He sounded mad. The lady was talking about her; maybe he was mad at her? She took a step away from him and kept her eyes on the ground.

Phil let out a sigh, pulled out his phone, and said, "How about we see if we can find May?"

When Skye didn't say anything, she could tell that he had finally looked at her. She could feel his eyes on her and she shrunk back a little.

She heard his breath catch, "What's wrong sweetie?"

She refused to look up at him in case that made him mad.

"Oh. Skye I wasn't mad at you, I was mad at that lady. She said something mean and inappropriate. I didn't mean to scare you."

He wasn't mad at her, he was mad at that lady. Skye wondered what had made Phil mad. She hadn't understood half of what the lady was saying so she couldn't figure it out.

She fidgeted a little and kept her eyes on the ground, "I'm sorry Skye. How about we go get some ice cream and then find May?"

Ice cream sounded yummy and Skye _never_ refused it, so she nodded and finally looked up at Phil. His face was kind and he was smiling gently at her. He didn't look mad anymore and Skye finally believed him when he said he wasn't.

"Do you feel safe walking or do you want me to carry you?"

Skye thought about it. There was still a bunch of people walking around and they were being really loud. Now that Phil said he wasn't mad he wasn't scary anymore, so she decided that it would be safer if she let Phil carry her.

She raised her arms and he picked her up. This time though, he didn't place her on his hip, he set her on his shoulders. She yelped and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. Phil chuckled and raised his arms so that Skye could use them to hold onto instead of his neck.

"Is this okay Skye?" She thought about it. Everyone seemed smaller from up here, and even though she was higher up than she liked to be, she felt safe with Phil's hands wrapped around hers.

"Yeah."

"Good. Let's go get some ice cream!"

Skye smiled and Phil walked towards the food court. She looked around at all the people walking by. Some people smiled at her but she didn't know them and she didn't want to smile back at them. She hoped she didn't hurt their feelings. She looked at the clothes on display at each of the stores they passed and tried to see if she could spot May. She couldn't.

Phil walked up to an ice cream place in the food court. He leaned forward a little so that Skye could see all the different flavors. Phil's head kept getting in the way, so she tapped him on the shoulder and he took her off of his shoulders and placed her on his hip. She could see much better now.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to a really colorful ice cream. It was a mixture of every single color! She pointed to it and asked Phil what it was called. "It's called Superman. Is that what you want?" Skye nodded and she was grateful when he ordered for her. He got a chocolate milkshake for himself and a vanilla one for May. While the employee was getting their ice cream, he set Skye on the counter and dug out his cell phone. He pressed a couple of buttons and put it to his ear.

"Hello? Hey honey… No, we left the play area…. I'll tell you about it later…" He glanced down at Skye and smiled at her, "Where are you?... Oh, you're done?...How about we meet at the car?...Okay, we'll see you there. Love you." He hung up.

He put his phone back into his pocket and turned to Skye, "May's all done, so we'll just meet her back at the car." Skye nodded and he pulled out a couple of bills from his wallet before picking Skye back up. The employee set their order onto the counter and Phil paid for everything. He grabbed two straws and a spoon and handed Skye her ice cream and May's milkshake. He picked up his milkshake and held them in the hand that wasn't holding Skye. "Can you hang onto that until we see May?" Skye nodded and they made their way out of the mall.

It was hard for Skye to resist her ice cream, but she knew that if she tried to eat it, she'd drop May's milkshake and she didn't want to do that. When they reached the parking lot, they saw May waiting by the car and looking at her phone with a couple of bags sitting by her feet.

As they got closer, May noticed them and smiled. Phil unlocked the car and May opened the backdoor, "Did you have fun?"

Skye nodded and handed her the milkshake, "We got ice cream!"

May chuckled, "I see that! Thank you for getting me something."

Skye blushed, "Phil got it for you, not me."

May smiled at her, "Yes, but you helped, so thank you."

Skye knew that her cheeks were still pink but she smiled back at May. Phil buckled her into her booster seat and handed her the spoon. Finally! She looked into her cup full of ice cream and was happy to see all the bright colors looking back at her. She dug in.

She sang along to the Disney songs and ate her ice cream. May said that they still had to stop by the grocery store, but after that, they would go home. Skye didn't mind.

They stopped at the grocery store and Skye followed them in as they grabbed a shopping cart. They put her in the cart and started weaving through the aisles. "Skye, if you see something that you like, tell us okay?"

Skye nodded at May.

The older woman gave her a pointed look, "I mean it okay? If you see something that you know you like to eat, tell us."

Skye nodded again. As they walked through the store, Skye pointed to the apples, pretzels and apple juice. Those were her three favorite things. Every time she pointed at something, May would smile real big and put it into the cart. They finished up and went to the registers to pay. Phil put all of their items onto the conveyor belt and the cashier rung them up. They brought everything out to their car and unloaded it before May took Skye out of the cart and placed her into the car. Phil put the cart back and Skye felt her eyes start to droop. She was tired.

May talked to her as she buckled her in, "Did you have fun so far?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah, I played on a lion and got to eat ice cream."

May laughed and finished buckling her in as Phil started the car. A Tangled song started playing, but Skye was too sleepy to sing along. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep to the gentle lull of Rapunzel's voice was May and Phil talking quietly in the front seat.

* * *

What'd you think? The next chapter _might_ include Wanda and Pietro :) I went and saw Age of Ultron again with some friends and it just reinforced how in love I am with those two.

Let me know what you guys thought! I've decided to finish this story and then do a collection of one-shots that pertain to the plot and characters, so if you want to see something, send me some prompts! If I can't fit it into the story, I will _definitely_ put it into the collection.

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! I decided to post another chapter today because I just finished Ch. 17 and idk I just wanted to post another one. This chapter is a little shorter than the other ones, but it is jam packed with a lot of stuff! I didn't really plan on writing the chapter this way but it just sort of happened and I actually like it a lot :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

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May was sitting in the passenger seat listening to Phil. He was quietly telling her what the lady in the mall had said. She glanced back to make sure that Skye was still sleeping before saying, "That lady was lucky that I wasn't there with you guys. What made her think that that backhanded compliment was okay?"

Phil shrugged but she could see that he was still gripping the steering wheel pretty tightly. She was about to say something else when her phone started ringing. She searched through her bag before pulling it out and answering it, "Hello?"

"Mom!" She hadn't looked at the caller I.D. but she instantly knew who it was.

"Wanda! It's so good to hear from you! We miss you so much sweetie."

She wholeheartedly missed the twins. They were the first kids that she and Phil had ever fostered. It had _not_ been easy. They had no idea what they were doing and Wanda and Pietro had not made it easy on them. Somewhere along the way, the twins had started trusting them and it had gotten exponentially easier. Natasha came to live with them a year before the twins had left for college and they had managed to become pretty close. Since they came home every summer, Trip had also gotten to know them and he and Pietro had become fast friends. She was anxious for Skye to meet them.

She thought that Skye and the twins would get along great. Wanda's quiet and comforting presence would surely help the little girl to trust her. Pietro's sense of humor and charm were impossible to resist and even though Skye had trouble trusting men, she thought that they would get along well.

"I miss you too. Pietro says hi, he can't really talk right now though. We're pretty busy over here."

They were both juniors in college and they had decided to study abroad together. Right now, they were in England studying at Oxford, but their specific program had them moving to different universities every month. She was lucky if they called once every three weeks. She missed them a lot but she was also very proud of them.

"Tell him we love him and miss him."

"I will. How's everyone?"

"Same old same old. Natasha has a dance recital coming up and Trip's been training for the new football season. We all miss you guys."

"And how's little Skye?" May had told them about Skye on the phone last week and she had emailed them a couple of pictures of the little girl that had been in her file. They were very interested in their new little sister.

"She's getting better. How about we video chat later and you guys can meet her?"

"Uh…one second. Let me check real fast."

May kept the phone to her ear and could hear Wanda rustling around. She glanced at Phil and he was looking at her. He whispered, "Tell them that I love them and miss them." She nodded.

She heard the rustling stop and Wanda said, "We're going on a quick research trip for about two days. How about we set up a video chat for Wednesday at… 3pm your time?"

"That sounds great sweetie! I know Skye will be very excited to meet you both. Your dad says hello and that he loves you."

"Tell him I love him too. I have to go. I wish we could talk longer. I miss you mom."

May felt her eyes start to well up with tears. She missed her babies, and hearing Wanda's voice made her miss them more.

"I miss you so much sweetie. Your father and I are so proud of you and your brother."

"Thanks mom. We'll both talk to you guys on Wednesday. Tell everyone we said hello!"

"Okay sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye mom."

May hung up and glanced at Phil, "They said that they missed you. We made plans to video chat on Wednesday at 3:00 so that Skye can meet them." May's vision was still a little blurry and she felt Phil's hand grab hers and squeeze it. "I miss them too honey."

She squeezed his hand back and she noted that they were about five minutes from home. They sat in silence for a minute before they heard whimpering coming from the back seat. May turned around and looked at Skye. The little girl's face was scrunched up and her left fist was opening and closing. She looked like she was having a nightmare.

She felt Phil turn into their driveway and she hopped out of the car and yanked Skye's car door open. She stroked her cheek and spoke softly so that she didn't scare her, "Skye wake up. You're having a nightmare sweetie. Everything's okay, wake up Skye."

The little girl's eyes flew open and focused on May. She started crying. May quickly unbuckled her from her seat and gathered her into her arms. Skye didn't say anything, she just wrapped her skinny arms around May's neck and buried her face into her shoulder and cried. She picked up the girl and guided her out of the car. She glanced up and Phil was looking at them worriedly. She gave him a hopeless look and followed him into the house.

"Phil, can you bring the bags inside?" She glanced at him and he nodded. She heard him call out to Natasha and Trip to ask if they would help him. She brought Skye into her room and sat down on her bed with the little girl still in her arms.

Skye had such a troubled childhood and it might help her to talk about. She knew that it probably wouldn't be easy for the little girl to say what happened to her, but it might make her feel better. If Skye wouldn't talk to her, she would maybe have to start looking for a child's psychologist because this poor little girl needed some help. She felt a little out of her depth.

Skye had stopped sobbing but she could tell that she was still crying. Her arms were still wrapped tight around May's neck and she sniffled every once in a while. She stroked Skye's long hair and spoke softly, "What were you dreaming about Skye?"

Skye's face was still buried in May's shoulder when she felt her start to pet her hair and heard her say, "What were you dreaming about Skye?"

She thought back to her nightmare. It had been when she had accidentally knocked over a glass at the Ramsey's. Mrs. Ramsey didn't say anything, she just went to pick up the broken glass, but Mr. Ramsey had started yelling at her. He said how she was stupid and how she never did anything right and that they should just take her back to the orphanage because if her real parent's didn't want her, why should they? Skye had stood there and listened to him. She forced herself not to cry because when she did, Mr. Ramsey would get angrier. His words were so mean though, so she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. She ducked her head, hoping that Mr. Ramsey hadn't seen. He did. He got angrier and had thrown a book at her. She had stepped out of its way, but he kept throwing things at her. And then May had woken her up.

She didn't like Mr. Ramsey. He was bad and said mean things. He hurt her feelings and made her feel bad. May never made her feel bad.

She just shook her head. She didn't want to tell May about what had happened. What if May thought that she deserved it? She _had_ broken a glass and she was stupid and it was her fault that Mr. Ramsey was always mad at her.

May continued to comb her fingers through Skye's hair and it felt really nice. "Skye, it may help you feel better if you tell me what you were dreaming about."

Skye pulled her face away from May's shoulder but stayed in her arms. She stopped crying. May moved so that she was sitting cross-legged and settled Skye in her lap. "How could it help?"

May wiped her thumb over her cheeks and collected Skye's tears, "Well, sometimes it helps to talk about the things that make you feel bad."

Skye didn't know how it would help her feel better. She didn't think it would work so she stayed quiet.

"You know, when Natasha started living with us, she would get nightmares. She wouldn't tell us what was scaring her for months and she kept having them. After a while, I finally convinced her to talk to a therapist about what was making her feel bad. Do you know what a therapist is?"

Skye shook her head and May kept talking, "It's a person that you talk to and they'll help you deal with what's scaring you or making you feel bad. They help you so that you feel better."

Skye thought that therapists sounded cool. How did they know how to help you feel better?

"If you want, I could find you a therapist to talk to if you don't want to talk to me. It might help with your nightmares baby."

Skye didn't know. She didn't know any therapists, so it would be a stranger. She didn't like talking to strangers. She looked up at May's kind face. She would rather just talk to her.

"I was dreaming about…Mr. Ramsey. It was when I accidently broke a glass cup and he started yelling at me… He said I was stupid and that since my own parents didn't want me, that he and Mrs. Ramsey didn't want me either. I tried really hard not to cry May. Crying always made him angrier, but I couldn't help it, he was being really mean." May was still stroking her hair and she was listening quietly. Skye took in a shuddering breath and continued talking, "He saw and started throwing things at me. He didn't stop until he hit me in the shin with a book. It was my fault that he was mad at me."

Skye looked down at her hands and waited for May to say something, "I'm sorry that you had to go through that Skye."

May's gentle words prompted her to start crying again and she knew May wouldn't get angry at her because of it.

May rubbed her back soothingly and continued talking, "I want you to know that none of that was your fault though. No one _ever_ deserves to get hurt Skye, and that includes getting hurt by mean words as well as being physically hurt. I want you to remember that when someone hurts you, it's _never_ your fault, no matter what anyone says." Skye was still crying but she made sure to listen carefully to May's words. "I know that some of the homes you have had to live in weren't very good and the people there weren't nice, but you _are_ safe here. You know that right?"

Skye realized that she _did_ know that. This family wasn't like the other ones. She felt safe here. She wanted to stay here forever.

She nodded and May let out a breath, "Good. You are very safe here baby. Phil and I, and even Natasha and Trip, are going to do everything we can to make sure that you're safe and happy here because we all want you to be a part of our family."

Skye felt warmth flood through her whole body. She didn't really know what she was feeling, but it felt good. She felt safe in May's arm and she never wanted to move. Was this what Jemma felt like when she was cuddling her mom?

Skye's mind instantly thought about what Jemma and Fitz had said, about May and Phil being her mommy and daddy. Natasha and Trip's real mommy's and daddy's weren't May and Phil, but they both called them mom and dad anyways. Maybe… they could be Skye's mom and dad too?

She looked down and started fiddling with her comforter, "May?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

She gathered up all of her courage, "Are you and Phil my mom and dad now?"

The hand that was combing through Skye's hair froze. Oh no. May didn't want to be her mom and she had just made her really uncomfortable by asking her that. She felt herself start to panic. She knew she was getting too attached to this family.

"Do you want us to be your mom and dad?" May's voice still sounded soft and kind. Maybe she wasn't mad.

Skye knew she did. She didn't have the chance to fully accept the Harvey's as her new parents before they had died, but she wanted May and Phil to be her new parents. Jemma and Fitz said that they did mommy and daddy things and Skye knew that they would keep her safe. They didn't yell at her or make her feel scared. They made her feel better when she cried and Skye didn't know if that's how all parent's acted, but she knew that that was what she imagined good parents should be like. She kept her eyes down and said, "Yeah."

May didn't even pause before saying, "Good. Because we would like to be your parents, if that's okay with you."

Skye jerked her head up. What? "Really?"

May's lips twitched up into a smile, "Really."

Skye wanted to double check that she was hearing her right, "Are you sure?"

This time May smiled really big, "Yes Skye, I'm very sure and I know Phil is too."

"Oh." They wanted to be her mom and dad. That made Skye really happy, even though she felt like she might be betraying her real mom and dad. May and Phil wanted to be her parents. They w _anted_ to be her mommy and daddy.

Just then, Phil poked his head into the room. He looked at them and then fully stepped into the room. He had something in his hands. "You okay Skye?"

Skye nodded her head but was still looking at what Phil was holding. It looked like a photograph.

Phil walked over to the bed and sat down next to May. He smiled kindly at her, "That's good. I was worried about you sweetheart."

Phil's kind words made Skye feel warm again. She pointed at the photo in his hand, "What's that?"

He offered her the picture and she took it. It was the picture that was in the frame that she broke, the one with May, Phil and the brother and sister. "This was in the picture frame that I broke."

Phil nodded, "Yes it was. Do you want to know who those two are?"

Skye nodded. She really wanted to know who they were.

May pointed at the girl, "That's Wanda," then she pointed at the boy, "and that's Pietro. They were the first kids that we ever fostered. They're brother and sister, twins actually."

Skye liked their names even though they were a little odd. They seemed to fit with how they looked. She traced her finger over their faces on the picture.

This time Phil spoke up, "They lived with us for eight years and now they're in college. We never officially adopted them, like we did Natasha and Trip, but the twins are just as much our kids and they are. We told them about you and they're very excited to meet you."

Skye hadn't heard about them before. "Why didn't you tell me about them sooner?"

May started swaying from side to side and Skye swayed with her, "Well, we didn't want to overwhelm you sweetie. We know that it was really hard for you to meet Natasha and Trip and we wanted to give you time to get comfortable around us before we introduced you to them."

That actually made sense. Skye didn't know how she would've reacted if May and Phil had told her that they had _four_ kids rather than two. "Am I going to meet them?"

Phil gently took the picture back and set it on her bedside table, "Well, they're very far away right now but they still really want to meet you, so we're going to video chat with them on Wednesday. You'll be able to talk to them then, is that okay?"

Skye nodded. She actually felt a little sad that she wouldn't be able to meet them face to face, which was weird because she didn't like meeting strangers. But, were they really strangers? May and Phil said that the twins were their kids, so that meant that they were her brother and sister, just like Natasha and Trip were. She really liked Nattie and Trip. She didn't realize how awesome it could be to have a brother and sister, and now that she knew what it was like, she was kind of excited to have more.

"Yeah. I want to meet them." May and Phil smiled at that.

May stopped rocking them and the mood in the room grew a little more somber, "Skye? I'm very happy that you opened up to me earlier, but I think it might be best if you visited a therapist. I know you might not want to, but it can really help sweetie."

May was right. She _didn't_ want to talk to a stranger. She didn't say anything.

May called Natasha's name before saying, "If you want, I can stay in the room with you when you talk to her. I'll make sure it's a girl. Actually, I can see if she would be willing to come over to our house and talk. Whatever makes you comfortable Skye."

That actually did make Skye feel better.

Natasha walked into the room, "You called?"

May nodded, "We were thinking that Skye might benefit from talking to a therapist," She gave Natasha a pointed look.

Nattie focused on her, "Oh! I went to a therapist for a while. I didn't want to at first, but it actually helped a lot."

Skye slowly nodded. If they thought that she should see a therapist, she would try it for them. They hadn't lied to her yet so she trusted them when they said that it could help her.

"Okay. But can I talk to her here?"

May gently patter her thigh, "I'm sure we can find a very nice therapist who would be willing to talk to you here sweetie."

Okay. Skye was going to see a therapist. It had been a really busy and strange day.

* * *

What'd you guys think? That study abroad program that Wanda and Pietro are involved in is actually like one that is offered at my college. You study at a new university in a different country every month and I would literally do a whole bunch of illegal things to get the opportunity to do it.

I actually hadn't planned on having Skye see a therapist because I was just going to have her talk to May about her past, but I think that May might not be best equipped to help her (also GothicPheonix made some suggestions that I think I might act on) and so Skye will be seeing a therapist (or psychologist? I'm not sure which one. What do you guys think?).

Thank you so much for reading. You guys are literally the best :) Double thank you to everyone who takes the time to review. I actually have memorized most of your usernames and consider you friends... so you guys are involuntarily my new friends :) xx -Ariel


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! So, Heth asked for a chapter with only Phil and Skye, so here you go! Thank you so much for reviewing and for your suggestion (I'm sorry that it's not _only_ Phil and Skye, but most of it is just those two).**

 **It's a short little chapter, but I think that it's cute :) Thank you for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own.**

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Skye woke up in the middle of the night. She was sweaty and didn't feel good. She kicked off her sheets and stood up. As soon as she was standing she felt like she was going to throw up. She ran to the bathroom, which only made her uneasy stomach feel worse, and vomited into the toilet. She started crying and her mouth tasted really bad. Being sick was _not_ fun. She rinsed her mouth out before leaving the bathroom.

She was still crying and she thought that she should go see May and Phil. She didn't know if it was okay to wake them up in the middle of the night, but then she remembered what May had said a few days ago, that she could go to them if she needed them. She was still sweating and crying and she felt really bad. She needed them.

She made her way down the hallway and slowly opened May and Phil's door. The doorknob felt really cold, but then Skye realized that her body was just really hot. She made an effort to quiet down her sobs and made her way to one side of the bed. She wasn't sure who was who. As she rounded the bed, Skye stared down at Phil's sleeping face. He looked peaceful. Skye's stomach rolled and a sob escaped before she could stop it. Phil jerked awake and his eyes fell on her, "Skye?"

He sat up and he looked concerned, "Are you okay sweetheart? What's wrong?"

She put her hands on her tummy to try and make the uneasy feeling in it stop, "I don't feel good Phil."

May woke up and sat up in bed by Phil. She reached over and placed her hand on Skye's forehead. Her palm felt really cold and Skye winced. "Oh baby, you're burning up!"

Phil got out of bed and disappeared out the door. May motioned for her to lie down next to her and she complied. Phil walked back in with a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of medicine in the other. He poured some of the medicine into a tiny measuring cup and handed it to her, "Here Skye, this will help you feel better."

She took it from him and sniffed it. It smelt t _errible_. It was sickly sweet and Skye didn't want to drink it. She shook her head.

"Come on sweetheart. It's supposed to taste like grape. It'll make you feel better." Phil sounded desperate.

Her stomach rolled again and she decided that if the medicine would help make that stop, she would have to take it. She quickly drank the medicine and scrunched her face up. She took the glass of water that Phil offered her and drank half of it. "That didn't taste like grape Phil."

"I'm sorry Skye. But it will help you feel better, I promise." Skye nodded at him.

May ran a hand along her arm, "Oh baby, you're all sweaty. Phil, maybe she should take a cold shower. It could help with the fever."

Phil nodded and said, "I'll go start it up and grab some new pajamas"

Skye didn't want to get up. She felt really tired all of a sudden and she was afraid that if she moved, it would make her feel worse. "Come on sweetie. A shower will cool you down."

Skye shook her head. She wanted to stay here. "I know you don't want to, but it will help baby. You can come in here and sleep when you're done, okay?"

Skye didn't say yes, but she didn't say no when May picked her up and brought her into the bathroom. May helped her take off her sweaty pajamas and she got into the shower. It was freezing! She whimpered and May turned it so that it was fractionally warmer but not by much. "I know that it's cold baby, I'm sorry."

Skye stood under the freezing water, trying not to sway and forcing her eyes to stay open, until May said that she could get out. Skye's body felt achey and she let May dry her off and dress her. When May picked her back up, she was already closing her eyes. She felt her walk down the hallway and gently place her on the bed. She heard Phil say that he got a trash bin in case Skye had to throw up. She felt them both lie back down and then she was asleep.

When Skye woke up again, her eyes felt like they were burning behind her eyelids and her body still felt achey and hot. May was whispering to her, "I have to go to work baby but Phil will stay with you. I called your school to tell them that you were staying home and they said that a lot of other kids were sick but that it was just a 12-hour stomach bug. You should start to feel better later in the day okay? I'll see you in the afternoon." Skye just nodded, rolled back over, and feel asleep again.

When she woke up for the third time, it was because she had to throw up. Phil was sitting beside her and when he saw her face, he picked up the trash bin from beside the bed and held it in front of her. His other hand held her hair away from her face as she vomited into the bin.

She sat back up and Phil put the trash bin back on the floor. He rubbed a hand soothingly down her back. When she felt like she could talk again she said, "Phil I still feel bad."

Phil made a sympathetic sound and said, "I know sweetie. It's actually time for you to take some more medicine. Here you go," He handed her the cup full of medicine. Skye obediently took it even though it tasted really bad.

Phil took the empty medicine cup and water glass away from her, "Good girl. It's about 11 right now. You've been sleeping a lot, which is really good Skye. Do you think you want to go back to sleep?"

Skye shook her head. She felt tired but not like she could go back to sleep.

"Alright, how about we move this party downstairs so that you can watch t.v.?"

Skye wanted to watch t.v. but didn't think that she wanted to move. Phil slowly picked her up, making sure that her stomach felt okay the whole time, before bringing her downstairs and gently placing her on the couch.

He sat down on the other end of the couch, "Can you tell me what feels bad Skye?"

"My tummy feels bad and so does my head. I feel really hot and achey. I feel bad Phil." Skye whimpered. She didn't like being sick.

Phil nodded, "I know sweetheart. Do you think you could drink some ginger ale? It'll help settle your stomach."

Skye didn't know but she was willing to try to she nodded. Phil disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a glass full of ginger ale in his hand. She sipped it and it didn't make her feel like she was going to throw up, so she assumed that that was good.

"Skye, I think I might have something that will help you feel better. Wanna see?"

Skye nodded. She saw him pull out a DVD and recognized the front cover, "Tangled!"

Phil smiled, "Yep, May got it for you yesterday and I was thinking that we could watch it. What do you say?"

"Yes!" Skye cuddled into the couch and watched as Phil put the DVD in and sat back down.

When the movie started, Skye was wholeheartedly focusing on it. As it progressed, she could feel her eyes growing heavier. She fought to keep them open but couldn't. She unwillingly fell asleep. When she woke up, it had only been about 15 minutes so she kept watching the movie, but the pattern continued. She would wake up, watch a couple of minutes of Rapunzel, then fall back asleep.

This time when she opened her eyes, it was at the last couple of minutes of the movie. She shifted and noted that she didn't feel as nauseous as she did before. She also felt a little cooler, but she still felt pretty achey. She looked at Phil and saw that he was avidly watching the movie. Maybe he liked it as much as she did?

The movie ended and Phil looked over to her, "Did you like it Phil?" She hoped he liked it. It was her most favorite movie on the planet.

He looked surprised when he said, "Actually…Yeah."

Skye smiled. He liked her favorite movie! "Who was your favorite?"

Phil considered it for a minute and it made Skye happy to see that he was taking this seriously, "I like the horse, Maximus."

"I like him too! He's a horse, but he acts like a doggy!"

Phil chuckled, "Yeah, he's pretty silly, isn't he?"

Skye nodded. She shifted on the couch so that she wasn't lying down anymore. She rested her back against the armrest on the couch and looked at Phil.

"How're you feeling sweetie?"

Skye took stock of how she felt. She didn't feel like she was going to throw up anymore and that was the best feeling ever. "I don't feel so bad anymore. I just feel tired."

"That's good sweetheart. Do you think you could try to eat some crackers? You haven't eaten all day." Phil stood up and handed her a new glass of ginger ale. She sipped it and nodded at him.

He turned to head into the kitchen and she stopped him, "Phil? Can you start the movie again?"

He nodded and started the movie over before heading into the kitchen. When he came back out, he was carrying a tray. He brought it over to her, "I brought some soup and crackers. You don't have to eat all of it, but you should try to eat as much as you can okay?"

Skye nodded and started slowly eating. She could only get through a couple of crackers and some sips of the soup before she shook her head and Phil took the tray away from her. He made sure that her ginger ale was still in reach before sitting back down on the couch. She laid down and Phil scooted over and pulled her feet into his lap. They continued watching the movie. Skye had never had anyone take care of her like this when she had been sick, other than the Harvey's. The nuns had made sure that she had had everything she needed to feel better, but they hadn't watched movies with her and made her feel better when she was throwing up. Phil was being really awesome and Skye felt safe with him. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep again, she was just happy that she was feeling better.

May had managed to get out of work about an hour or two earlier than normal. She wanted to check on Skye and hoped that she was feeling better. When she had called Skye's school, they had told her that a couple of other students were also sick but that they had started feeling better in a couple of hours. She had called Maria just to make sure that that was true and she had confirmed it.

She sighed as she parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the house. She hoped that Phil had been okay with a sick Skye. Children reacted to sickness differently. When Natasha was sick, she just wanted to be left alone. She didn't like being touched and she did _not_ like being fussed over. Trip was the complete opposite. He liked to be taken care of and he wanted to be cuddled. He basically turned into a whiney toddler. The twins were somewhat of a mixture between the two. If one got sick, you could bet that in a couple of hours the other one would start showing the same symptoms. For a couple of hours, they would insist on being left alone, then for an hour or two, they would turn into cuddly kittens. They wanted to be hugged and fussed over, and they would latch on to either May or Phil and cuddle with them until they reverted back to being distant.

The problem was that she didn't know how Skye was when she was sick. She hoped that the little girl had been okay with Phil caring for her. Of course she was okay, Phil was a pediatric doctor for crying out loud! She just couldn't stop herself from worrying about her baby.

She opened the door and looked around. She immediately spotted Skye and Phil on the couch. The t.v. was playing and a song was coming from it. She walked over to the living room and set her bag on the floor. She grabbed her phone and took a picture of the two. Phil was sitting in the middle of the couch, his head was tilted back and his mouth was open. Skye was lying down. Her face was smooshed into a pillow with her hands resting under her chin. Her feet where on Phil's lap and there was a blanket thrown haphazardly over her. They were both sleeping.

They both looked peaceful and she didn't want to wake them up, so she just took another picture and gently fixed the blanket so that it was covering Skye properly. Then, she quietly moved to the dining room and waited for the two sleeping beauties to wake up.

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What'd you guys think? My dad used to watch Disney movies with me when I was sick and he _hates_ Disney so I never really minded being sick because then he would have to watch them with me :)

Please let me know what you guys think! I love hearing what you guys have to say. xx -Ariel


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! This chapter was kind of difficult for me to write but I hope you all like it :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. xx**

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When Skye woke up she noticed that Phil was gone and her face was pressed into the pillow. She felt warm, but not hot like earlier, and it was probably because of the blanket wrapped tightly around her. She sat up and noted that she didn't feel like she was going to throw up anymore. She didn't feel bad anymore. She still felt a little off, but she felt almost normal again. That made her happy because she absolutely hated being sick.

She looked around and heard voices coming from the dining room. She wandered into it and saw May and Phil sitting next to each other going over some papers. Trip was also sitting at the table. He had his computer in front of him and she could hear him pressing down on his keys. He looked up and noticed her first, "Skye! How're you feeling girl? You didn't look too hot this morning."

May and Phil looked over to her and she walked over to May. The older woman wrapped one arm around her and placed the other one on her forehead, "You feel much cooler baby. How do you feel?"

Skye leaned more heavily into May. She didn't like being sick and even though Phil had cared for her all day and made her feel better and she thought he was amazing for it, she still felt the after affects of her sickness and just wanted a hug. She put her arms around May's neck and May made a surprised sound before lifting her up and placing Skye on her lap. She burrowed into May and it felt good to just be cuddled. "I don't feel bad anymore."

"That's great baby. Do you want to come with me to pick Natasha up from dance class?"

Skye nodded. She was kind of tired of lying down all day and she really wanted to see Nattie dance.

"Okay sweetie. We'll have to leave soon though. How about you go put on some real clothes?"

Skye nodded and slid off of May's lap. Before she went to go upstairs, she walked over to Phil and looked up at him. He smiled down at her. She wanted him to know that she was grateful that he had helped her when she was feeling bad. She motioned for him to lean down a little and then she hugged him. She felt him wrap one arm around her back and rub it soothingly. She whispered to him, "Thanks for taking care of me Phil."

She stepped out of the hug and saw him smile down at her, "Always. That's what I'm here for Skye. I like taking care of you." She smiled back up at him and then made her way out of the dining room.

She got dressed and went back downstairs. May was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase and they said goodbye to Trip and Phil before getting into the car. Skye listened to the Aladdin songs playing in the car on the way to get Natasha.

The dance studio wasn't too far away and they pulled into the parking lot pretty quickly. May helped unbuckle her and she jumped out of the car. She looked at the building. It was pretty big and the outside of it looked kind of like the castle in Tangled. It was kind of intimidating. She grabbed May's pinky and she let the older woman lead her into the building. As soon as they stepped through the doors, Skye's eyes widened a little bit and she took in everything. It was very clean in here and Skye could see a bunch of girls wandering around. Some of them looked like ballerinas, some of them had on costumes and some of them were just wearing normal workout clothes. Skye could hear different types of music coming from behind each door they passed. May led her further into the building and they stopped in front of the last door. May opened it and there was a little viewing room off to the side and the rest was a big, cleared out room. It had a giant mirror along one wall and wooden beams along another one. It looked like the dance class was over because most of the girls in there were gathering their things and meeting their parents in the viewing room.

Skye's eyes roamed over the room and fixated on Natasha. She was off in the far corner of the room. She had on a pink leotard and funny looking shoes. She was twirling around and Skye wondered how she was moving so fast. She looked pretty and amazing. Skye wished that she could dance like Natasha could.

Natasha finished twirling and spotted them. She waved to them and went to grab her bag and change her shoes. May made her way over to Natasha and Skye followed her. Natasha pulled on some sweatpants and turned to them. "Hey guys. Are you feeling better Skye?"

Skye nodded and then pulled her pinky out of May's and moved so that she was standing right in front of Natasha, "Nattie, how were you doing that? It was so cool!"

Natasha smiled at her and ran a hand over her hair, "Thanks Skye. I've been practicing for a _long_ time."

May spoke up, "How's practice for the recital going?"

Natasha looked towards May, "You know, everyone's getting a little stressed out but it's going okay."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be great. Your recitals always are." May took Natasha's bag and carried it for her.

She tugged on Natasha's hand, "Nattie, what's a recital?"

Natasha grabbed Skye's pinky with her own and they started walking out of the building, "It's when all us dancers perform on stage for an audience."

That sounded fun. She really wanted to see Nattie dance more, "Oh. Can I come? When is it?"

May laughed, "Of course you can go sweetie, we're all going. It's this Thursday."

That was close. It was Monday today and Thursday would be here soon. She remembered that on Wednesday she was going to be able to talk to Wanda and Pietro and she was still a little nervous about that.

Natasha helped buckle her into her seat before sitting up front with May. May turned down the music a little but she still sung along to it.

Their voices floated back to her, "I forgot to ask you earlier, how was your presentation?"

"We totally killed it mom. You know how nervous I can get about talking in front of a lot of people, but ours was totally the best."

"I'm so proud of you sweetie. We should celebrate this weekend. Oh! Did I tell you that we're going to video chat with the twins on Wednesday? We set it up so we'll call them at 3:00, so you should be out of school by then."

She heard Natasha squeal in delight, "Oh, I miss them so much! When are they coming back?"

"Well, they'll be over in Europe until the semester is over, so they won't be back for about two months."

Natasha grumbled and May said, "I know. I miss them too. But over Christmas break they'll be with us for a whole month."

Natasha was happy to hear that. They kept talking and Skye's mind wandered to Wanda and Pietro. Natasha sounded like she really liked them and like she missed them. They couldn't be bad if Natasha liked them. She was excited and nervous to talk to them on Wednesday.

When they got back home, Skye played with Trip and Natasha until dinner was ready. After that, she took a shower and surprised May and Phil by telling them she was tired and she was going to go to bed an hour before her bedtime. Even though she felt better, she was still tired. They tucked her in and she fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Skye felt like she had never even been sick. She insisted that she felt well enough to go to school and so May and Phil were driving her there. She was happily singing songs from The Princess and the Frog. She stopped singing and spoke loud enough so that May and Phil could hear her, "Can we go to the playground later?"

May turned around so that she was facing Skye, "How about we see how today goes first?"

"But I feel fine May!"

May smiled at her, "I know you do sweetie, but let's make sure you still feel okay after school. If you do, then we can go to the park, okay?"

Skye agreed, mainly just because she knew that she would still feel okay after school. "Is it okay if Fitz and Simmons come and play too?"

She felt Phil pull into the school, "Why don't you ask them and we'll ask their parents when we see them when we pick you up later?"

"Okay."

Phil stopped the car and got out to help Skye out of the car. Once she was unbuckled, she leaned forward and hugged May real quick. It was a little awkward because May was still buckled into her seat but it still felt nice. She grabbed her backpack and lunchbox from the seat next to her and hopped out of the car. Phil handed her a folded up piece of paper, "What's this?"

Phil ran a hand over her head, "Give this to Ms. Hill. It just says how you were sick yesterday and a couple of other things. Don't forget to give it to her okay?"

She put the paper in her backpack and then put that on her back, "Okay Phil."

She smiled at them and everyone said goodbye before she ran into the school. She saw Ms. Hill standing outside her door and she walked over to her. "We missed you yesterday Skye. Are you feeling better?"

She rifled through her backpack and grabbed the paper that Phil gave her. She offered it to Ms. Hill and the older woman took it, "I feel much better today."

"That's great. Why don't you go put your stuff down and sit on the reading rug? We're going to start the day off with a story." Ms. Hill smiled at her and skimmed over the paper she had handed her.

"Okay!" She ran into the room and put her lunchbox in her cubby and her backpack by her desk. She saw Lincoln, Fitz, and Jemma already sitting on the reading rug.

She walked over and sat by Lincoln, "Skye! You weren't here yesterday."

She looked at him, "Yeah, I was sick."

"I was sick last week too. It wasn't fun." Lincoln gave her a sympathetic look.

Fitz looked at her, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Jemma spoke up, "Good. We missed you."

She had missed her friends too. They were a little weird sometimes, but they were nice to her and they liked her. They missed her when she was gone and she missed them when they weren't around.

"Do you guys want to go to the playground again after school?" She asked all three of them, even Lincoln. She didn't know if Lincoln lived near them, but she felt bad not inviting him.

Jemma looked guilty, "I'm sorry Skye, my mom said she would take Fitz and I to the museum later today. Maybe we can go tomorrow."

Lincoln also looked pretty guilty, "I don't live near you guys and my babysitter looks after me until my mom gets home from work. She's not supposed to take me anywhere."

"Oh. Okay." Skye felt sad that they couldn't play with her on the playground, but she could still have fun without them there. Maybe Ward would be there.

Fitz gave her a sympathetic look, "We're sorry Skye."

She shook her head, "It's okay."

Ms. Hill walked in and everyone quieted down. The rest of the day was pretty fun. They learned about the letter T and about Africa. She worked with Ms. Hill and she helped her with her math and her reading. Fitz was disappointed at lunch because she had her own apple and didn't trade anything for his. They played freeze tag during recess and made a house out of popsicle sticks at the end of the day.

Ms. Hill led them outside and she ran over to May. She was smiling at her and May waved. Phil had told her earlier that he would be working today and he wouldn't be there to pick her up. Instead of slowing down, she kept running towards May and jumped, hoping she would catch her. Of course May caught her. She lifted her up and set Skye on her hip.

"How was your day sweetie?"

"It was good. I still don't feel sick May, can we go to the playground?"

"As long as you're still feeling better, I don't see why not. Are your friends coming?"

May started walking back towards the car and she opened the back door for them, "No, Jemma said her mommy was taking her and Fitz to a museum instead."

"Oh, well, we can still have fun at the playground." Skye smiled and let May buckle her into her booster seat.

She sang along to Rapunzel songs on the way home. When they got home, she ran upstairs and threw her backpack into her room and then ran back downstairs. She bounced up and down beside May, waiting for her to be ready to go.

She laughed, "Okay, okay. Let's go. When we get back though, you need to start your homework okay?"

Skye nodded and tugged on May's hand. They locked the door and walked down the street towards the playground.

May said, "So, you know how we talked about you seeing a therapist?"

Skye nodded. She still wasn't sure if she would like talking to a stranger.

"Well, I called Natasha's old therapist and she said that she would be happy to meet with you. She said that she wouldn't mind meeting with you at our house, so you could talk to her in your room if that will make you feel better."

Skye nodded again. She felt safe with May and Phil and she felt safe in the house, so she was happy that her therapist could talk to her in her room.

She nodded again, "Okay. She said she could come over tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

Skye started to nod again but then she remembered something, "Wait! We're talking to Wanda and Pietro tomorrow!"

May chuckled, "It's okay sweetie. She'll be coming over at around 6:00. You can still have time to meet the twins."

That made Skye feel better. She really wanted to meet them and she would rather be able to talk to them than with some therapist.

Something had been bothering her about the twins, "May? How come you adopted Natasha and Trip but not Wanda and Pietro?"

May took a second before answering, "Well... before the twins came to live with us, they loved their parents very much. They were a very happy family and when their parents died, it devastated them. We talked to them about adopting them and they told us that making it official felt like they were trying to replace their mom and dad. That wasn't our intention, but we respected their decision. Even though they aren't our children on paper, they _are_ our kids."

Skye thought about that. She didn't understand why they wouldn't want to be May and Phil's kids for real. Maybe it was because she didn't know what it was like to grow up with a mommy and daddy who loved her like Wanda's and Pietro's did. Maybe she could ask them.

They reached the playground and May told Skye that she would be sitting on the benches. Skye nodded and ran off to climb all over the castle. She was pretending to run away from evil ninjas when she spotted Ward. He was over by the monkey bars.

She went down the slide and ran over to him, "Ward! I didn't know you were here. Want to go on the seesaw?"

Ward turned to her and she reeled back. He had a black eye and it looked like it hurt a lot. He smiled at her and ducked his head. It looked like he was trying to stop Skye from seeing his eye but there was no way she could miss it. It looked terrible.

"Ward! What happened? Are you okay?" She peered up at him and he took a step back.

"Well… I accidentally fell down the stairs. Don't worry, it looks worse than it really is."

Skye was nodding when she saw Ward reach down and gently rub his arm. Her eyes were drawn to the movement and they widened when she saw another bruise. This one looked like a hand print wrapping around his wrist. Skye had seen that before. She knew he was lying to her. He didn't fall down the stairs! Someone hurt him.

She crossed her arms, "You're lying."

Ward straightened up and looked like he was getting mad, "What? No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! That bruise on your arm looks like a hand print! I've seen bruises like that before. You can't get them from falling down the stairs!"

Ward flinched back when she started raising her voice. He pulled her back into the castle and dragged her to a secluded corner.

"How did you know that?" He didn't sound mad anymore, just worried.

Skye looked away, "I lived with some mean people before. I know that someone did that to you, not the stairs."

Ward grabbed her shoulder, "Skye, you can't tell anyone! It's my fault that this happened."

Skye knew she was supposed to tell someone. She remembered what May had told her when she told the older woman about her nightmare. She said that if someone purposefully hurt you that it was never your fault.

She needed to tell Ward that, "It wasn't your fault Ward. May told me that if someone hurts you on purpose, that it isn't your fault. If you tell somebody, they can make it stop."

Ward started to look panicky, "No! Skye, you can't tell anyone! Please!"

She knew that the right thing to do would be to tell someone what was happening, but he looked so upset at the thought of that that she started to doubt herself.

Ward started talking again, "This is the only time it's happened. It won't happen again, I promise! You can't tell anyone!"

"I don't know…"

"Skye! If you tell anyone, they'll take me away from my family! I can't leave my little brother, okay?"

Even though she knew that it was the wrong thing to do, she said, "Okay… But only if you promise that if it happens again, you'll tell somebody."

Ward released her shoulder and sighed, "Yes, yes I promise. Now you promise."

Skye felt guilty, "I promise."

Ward let out a big breath and smiled at her, "Thank you Skye. Let's go on the seesaw."

Skye followed him and played with him, but her heart wasn't in it. She remembered the first time they met, when he had tried to steal her swing, and how his older brother had painfully squeezed his shoulder. Maybe he was the one who had hurt Ward. She thought that Ward was lying. He said that it had never happened before but Skye knew that it had, he just hadn't had bruises that were visible.

When Mr. Ramsey had left bruises on her, he mostly made sure that no one else would see them. No one had ever seen them and she had hid them because he said that they were her fault and if anyone saw, they would blame her. May had told her that when he hurt her, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't Ward's fault either. She didn't want someone to take him away from his little brother, but she knew that she should tell someone.

They kept playing until May told her it was time to leave. She looked over to Ward and couldn't stop the uneasy feeling that was working through her body when she saw his black eye again. It looked like it hurt a lot. "I have to go."

Ward hopped off the monkey bars and landed in front of her, "Okay, I'll see you later Skye. Remember what you promised, okay?"

"Okay." Skye didn't feel okay. She walked away from him and towards May. May smiled at her and offered her pinky to Skye. She gratefully took it. May would never giver her bruises because May was good.

They silently walked back home. Skye felt really bad about what she promised Ward. She shouldn't have made that promise.

She could feel May staring at her, "What's wrong Skye?"

Skye gripped May's pinky tighter and stared at her feet, "I can't tell you."

May stopped them. They were still a little ways from home and they were standing on the sidewalk. "What do you mean you can't tell me?"

Skye swayed from left to right, "It's a secret."

May crouched down and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "Is it a bad secret?"

Skye looked away from her. It _was_ a bad secret. Skye knew it shouldn't be a secret, that she should tell someone what was happening, but she had made a _promise._

May looked worried, "Skye?"

Skye kept her eyes averted. She thought back to Ward's bruises. Skye didn't know what to do. She knew that she should tell May about Ward, but she had promised. She wasn't supposed to break promises. But, keeping this secret was making her feel sick. She knew that if she didn't say anything, Ward would get hurt again. Mr. Ramsey didn't stop even though he said he would and she didn't think it would stop happening to Ward.

She rushed forward and hugged May. May wrapped her arms around her and it made Skye feel better. "You're worrying me Skye."

Skye didn't mean to make May worried. She shook her head, "I can't tell you, I promised."

May kept hugging her and Skye turned her head so that it was tucked under May's chin. "It's a bad secret, isn't it?"

Skye didn't think it would break her promise to tell May that it was a bad secret, so she nodded her head.

May leaned back and Skye looked up at her, "Did someone hurt you Skye? If they did, you need to tell me. It's okay to break a promise if you're being hurt."

It was okay to break a promise if someone was being hurt? "No one hurt me May…"

May let out a breath, "Okay good. Is…someone _else_ being hurt?"

May said that it was okay to break a promise if someone was being hurt and May had never lied to her before. Maybe it would be okay to tell May the secret?

Skye nodded. She put her head back on May's chest and hugged her tighter. May started stroking her hair and it felt good. It made her feel a little better about betraying Ward.

May kept hugging her and said, "Who's being hurt?"

Skye wasn't sure if she should say anymore. She had already mostly broken her promise that she had made with Ward and it had not even been a day!

"Skye, if someone is being hurt, you need to tell me so I can make it stop. I know you wished that someone would've stopped Mr. Ramsey from hurting you, didn't you?" May said it softly but her words still packed a punch.

Skye flinched because it was true. She _did_ wish someone would have made it stop. If Ward was being treated the same way that Mr. Ramsey had treated her, she knew she needed to help stop it.

She wanted to make sure that May knew what she was talking about, "You're sure you can help?"

May started rubbing her back, "I promise that I will be able to help."

Skye nodded. She knew she needed to tell. She felt so bad that she started crying. May made soothing sounds and kept rubbing gentle circles on her back,

"My friend, Ward… someone's hurting him. I think it's his older brother."

Skye turned her face into the juncture of May's neck and cried softly. She broke her promise. Ward wouldn't want to be her friend anymore.

"Ward? You mean the Ward's that live across the street from us? Grant Ward?"

Grant lived across the street from her? She nodded her head.

"Skye, you did the right thing okay? Now that I know, I can help him."

Skye shook her head, "I wasn't supposed to tell."

May leaned away from her and brushed the tears off her cheeks, "It's usually a good thing to keep your promises but you did the right thing. You shouldn't keep secrets when someone is either being hurt or is in trouble. It's okay to break those promises, okay?"

Skye nodded even though she still felt really guilty. May picked her up and Skye leaned her head against her chest and wrapped her legs around May's waist. She felt her start walking and she kept her face hidden. Even though May said it was okay, she still felt like a terrible friend.

She felt May walk up the porch steps and heard her open the door. She heard Phil shout hello to them but they didn't say anything back. May set her down in a dining room chair and whispered something to Phil. He left and May leaned down so that she was face to face with Skye. "Listen to me Skye, I know you feel bad about telling me the secret but you did nothing wrong okay?"

Skye reluctantly nodded, "Okay."

Phil returned with Skye's backpack in hand. May spoke again, "Phil's going to help you with your homework alright? I need to go make a phone call."

Skye nodded again and was surprised when May leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

Phil spread out all of her worksheets on the table and Skye tried to focus on them, but all she could do was think about was the handprint-shaped bruise on Ward's wrist and worry about if Ward would hate her now.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Poor Ward and poor Skye. At least Skye is learning that what happened to her wasn't her fault.

Please let me know what you guys think! I love hearing from you. Also! If you have ideas or prompts that you want me to write for the one-shot collection, start sending them in so I can make a list of what I need to write!

Thanks for reading and continually being awesome :) xx -Ariel


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! If you happen to notice that this chapter is unusually free of mistakes, that's because I have a beta now! The wonderful Gleevengers98, who is an actual rock star, is beta'ing this fic for me, so now you guys won't have to deal with my stupid mistakes all the time. Bless her beautiful heart 3**

 **I'm taking back what I said a few chapters ago and declaring this one as my new favorite chapter. I hope you guys like it! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did). xx**

* * *

Skye couldn't sleep. She still felt really guilty about telling May Ward's secret. May told her that she had done the right thing, but she wasn't sure. Ward said that if she told, he would be taken away from his little brother. She didn't want to take him away from someone he loves.

When May had come back into the dining room, she had told her that everything was taken care of. Skye didn't know what that meant. She wanted to ask, but didn't feel like talking. She hadn't been able to eat much of her dinner and caught the worried looks everyone was giving her. She felt like a bad friend. She'd taken a shower and quickly pretended to fall asleep so that May and Phil would stop making her feel worse with their concerned glances.

Skye rolled onto her back and stared at the stars on her ceiling. She gripped Alice tighter to her chest. There was a tight knot in her stomach. She felt guilty about Ward and nervous about talking to the therapist tomorrow and anxious about meeting the twins.

She sighed and got out of bed. It had been a couple hours since she had been tucked into bed and Skye had heard everyone retreat to their rooms earlier. She poked her head out and saw that the hallway was dark. Skye tiptoed down the hall and stopped in front of Natasha's room. She stared at the wintery scene on the door in front of her. The lonely, empty trees and frigid landscape looked like how she felt inside.

She opened the door and peered inside. Natasha was sitting on her bed and watching something on her laptop. She looked up when Skye opened her door and pressed a button on her keyboard before saying, "What's up Skye?"

Skye didn't really know _why_ she came in here, it was just where she ended up. She fidgeted from foot to foot and bit her lip. Natasha shut her laptop and put it on her bedside table before patting the bed and motioning for Skye to come over. She walked over and climbed onto Natasha's bed, crawling into her lap. The older girl wrapped her arms around Skye's middle and it made her feel a little bit better.

Natasha started swaying them and Skye leaned into her chest, "What're you thinking about?"

Even if sisters did tell each other everything, Skye didn't know if May had told Natasha about Ward and if she didn't, Skye didn't want to break her promise for a second time. "I have to talk to a therapist tomorrow."

"Oh. I see." Skye couldn't see Natasha's face but she stopped rocking them. Natasha shifted Skye so that they could see each other. The older girl brushed Skye's hair out of her face, "You wanna know a secret?"

Skye didn't know if she could handle another secret but she nodded anyways.

Natasha leaned in closer so that their faces were inches apart, "I didn't want to talk to my therapist. Actually, I _didn't_ talk to her for three whole weeks."

"But May said that the therapist helped you!" Maybe May had been wrong?

Natasha chuckled, "She _did_ help me, but I didn't want to talk to her at first. I was nervous and didn't want to tell a stranger everything about me. I didn't know her and I didn't trust her. So, for our first couple of sessions, I just stared at her. She would ask me questions sometimes but I wouldn't answer her. She didn't get mad at me though. This therapist is very nice, I promise."

She wanted to know more, "What did you talk about?"

"I don't know if mom or dad told you, but before I came to live with them, the people that I lived with were bad. They did really bad things and they weren't nice to me. I hated them." Natasha didn't look sad when she said this, she just said it like it was a fact.

Even though Nattie didn't look upset, Skye wanted to make sure that she wasn't just pretending. She thought that maybe she would feel better if she knew that Skye understood. She slowly reached a hand up and cupped Natasha's cheek, "I lived with bad people too Nattie. It's okay."

Natasha smiled softly at her and placed her hand over Skye's. She gently lifted Skye's hand off of her cheek and kissed Skye's palm before intertwining their pinkies, "Thank you Skye. We're both lucky to be here with mom and dad."

Skye agreed. Natasha kept talking, "I thought that the therapist would make me talk about all the bad things that had happened to me, but she didn't _make_ me do anything. She just let me talk about whatever I wanted. At first, I didn't know if she was just pretending, so I talked about the stupidest things, like my least favorite foods and about dogs. She didn't make me stop, she just listened to me. She was nice and one time I had a really bad day and I just exploded! I walked into her office and just started ranting! She listened to me and helped me figure out why I was feeling so angry and after that it was a little easier to talk to her. She helped me deal with what happened when I was younger and gave me tips on how to deal with my emotions."

Skye listened intently to what Natasha said, "So, you liked talking to the therapist?"

Natasha thought about it, "Well, I didn't like it at first. It was weird and I didn't want to talk to a stranger, but then I figured out that she was there to help me, not make me feel bad." Nattie stopped and breathed in deeply, "I'm not going to lie, when I first started living with mom and dad, I was really messed up. I was really mad and I had nightmares all the time. After talking to the therapist for a while, she helped to…unmess me up. Does that make sense?"

Skye kind of understood what she was saying. Natasha must've seen her slight confusion because she kept talking, "Like, you know how when you dump your crayons out of their box and they're all in a pile?" Skye nodded, "My thoughts and emotions were like that giant pile of mixed up crayons. Each color was a thought or a feeling and they were all jumbled up and mixed together. My therapist helped me pick up all the crayons and organize them back into the box. She helped me sort through everything. She helped me feel better."

Skye nodded. She understood what Nattie was saying. Maybe the therapist could help with the giant knot that was taking up residence in her tummy.

"Is she nice?"

Natasha grinned, "She is very nice. I think you'll like her a lot. You don't have to be nervous about talking to her Skye. If you don't want to talk about something, she won't make you."

That made Skye feel much better. The knot in her tummy loosened a little.

Natasha helped her feel better about the therapist, maybe she could help her feel better about meeting Wanda and Pietro. "Nattie, do you think Wanda and Pietro will like me?"

Natasha squeezed Skye's pinky, "Oh маленькая звезда. I think that they will love you."

Hearing that made the knot in her tummy loosen a little bit more. "What're they like?"

Natasha gently pushed Skye out of her lap and peeled her covers down on her bed, "Come here." She patted one of her pillows and Skye crawled over and laid her head on it. Natasha put her head on the same pillow and pulled the covers up.

Skye snuggled into the sheets and stared at Natasha.

The older girl smiled at her, "They are awesome. When I first moved in, they were really nice to me, but I wasn't very nice to them. I was scared here and didn't trust them," Nattie said this guiltily and Skye reached out and intertwined their pinkies again, "but after a couple of months, when I learned English and felt more comfortable here, they became my brother and sister. They protected me and made me laugh. Wanda is so nice and Pietro is really funny. They love me and I love them, and I know that they'll love you."

After hearing that, Skye felt really warm, "Tell me more."

"Well, Wanda _loves_ helping animals… and people… and plants. Actually, she loves helping _everything_. She's the nicest person I've ever met and dad always says that she is going to change the world. She told me that she wants to be a doctor and go to other countries to take care of people who need help. Pietro is the funniest and most protective big brother ever. One time, a boy at my school was making fun of the way I talked and he went with mom when she came to pick me up. I don't know how he knew who the boy was, but he found him and told him that if he was ever mean to me again, he would regret it. I don't think that boy ever _looked_ at me again. Of course, mom got mad at him for intimidating a younger kid, but he didn't really care. Oh! And another time…"

Natasha kept talking and Skye found her mind wandering a little bit. Her eyes were starting to feel heavy and Nattie's voice was soothing. Wanda and Pietro sounded nice. Natasha said that they would like her and she trusted Natasha.

She tried not to, but eventually she fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Skye woke up before Natasha did. She hadn't slept very well. Her guilt had invaded her dreams and had made her restless. She felt more tired when she woke up than she had before she had fallen asleep.

She untangled herself from a sleeping Natasha and quietly slipped out of her bed. She made her way downstairs and found Phil standing in the middle of the kitchen eating cereal and reading a newspaper that was spread out on the countertop.

She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself running towards Phil. He looked up when he heard her and was about to say something when she crashed into his legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed her face into his stomach. She could blame it on the lack of sleep or her guilt over Ward or her anxiety about everything else, but she just felt _wrong_. She didn't feel like she normally felt. She felt _off._ She just wanted everything to go back to normal again. She needed a hug.

Skye didn't know how so much had changed over the past few days. She had never hugged anybody when she felt bad. She had never allowed herself to act on that urge. She didn't feel safe when someone else was wrapped around her, but this family was different. They made her feel different. They made her feel like it was okay to want to hug them and she knew that she was safe wrapped up in their arms.

Phil let out a surprised sound but hugged her back, "Are you okay?"

No, she wasn't okay. Skye tilted her head up, "Yeah."

She didn't think she convinced him though. He set down his bowl of cereal by his newspaper and leaned forward to pick her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her so that they were face to face. He smiled kindly at her, "Now what did I do to deserve a hug like that?"

He didn't do anything. He was just Phil, and that was more than enough. "I don't know, I just wanted to."

Phil's smile widened, "Well feel free to hug me anytime you want. Your hugs are the best." He leaned in and whispered, "Don't tell May I said that though."

Skye smiled back at him. He moved to set her back down but she gripped onto him tighter. She didn't want to leave him yet. He didn't say anything, just put some bread into the toaster and when it was done, slathered it with jam and handed it to Skye. She wasn't very hungry but she ate it anyways. She finished her toast and rested her head on Phil's shoulder while he swayed back and forth and finished reading his newspaper.

Skye still felt off, but she felt a little better with Phil there.

Skye saw May walk into the kitchen. She watched as the older woman took in her and Phil and saw her eyebrows rise. She didn't say anything, just said good morning to both of them and kissed them both on the cheeks. Skye still wasn't used to that, but it felt nice. May grabbed herself a bowl of cereal and sat down in the dining room. Natasha and Trip eventually came downstairs and fixed themselves breakfast. Skye stayed wrapped in Phil's arms but he didn't seem to mind.

After a little bit she heard Phil say, "You need to go get dressed for school sweetheart."

Skye reluctantly nodded and Phil set her down. She went upstairs to change and brought down a couple of hair ties. She walked up to Natasha, "Nattie, can you braid my hair?"

Natasha put her spoon down and smiled at her, "Sure маленькая звезда."

Skye stood there while Natasha put two braids into her hair and tied them off. When she was done, she turned around and thanked her before sitting in the chair next to her. She waited until May said that it was time to leave before grabbing her backpack and following her out the door.

* * *

Skye didn't like today. She didn't feel like herself at all. During class, she had tried to avoid talking to her friends. She didn't feel like talking. She could tell that they didn't know why she was avoiding them and it made her feel worse because she had upset her friends. She couldn't do anything right.

She felt the tension and anxiousness in her growing. She didn't know what had happened with Ward. She didn't know if he was okay or if he had been hurt again. She didn't know if he had been taken away from his little brother and she didn't know if she had made everything worse rather than better. Despite what Natasha had said last night, she still felt nervous about meeting her therapist. She didn't like meeting strangers and she was worried that her therapist would be mean to her. She was anxious about meeting the twins because she _really_ wanted them to like her.

Throughout the whole day, she had felt everything in her growing. The more she thought about all of that stuff, the more _off_ she felt. She couldn't take it anymore.

They were working on another letter worksheet, this time it was the letter V, and Skye couldn't help but think about Ward. She was trying to focus on her worksheet but for some reason she couldn't fill it out properly and Skye felt something in her snap. Her eyes started tearing up and she forced herself not to cry in front of everyone. She looked around and saw Ms. Hill sitting at her desk. She walked up to her, making sure to look down so that no one saw her face.

She reached Ms. Hill's desk and heard her say, "Are you all done with your worksheet Skye?"

Skye shook her head. Her vision was getting blurry and she didn't know why she was feeling this way but she hated it. Her voice shook when she talked, "Ms. Hill, could you call May and Phil?"

She was still looking at the floor, trying desperately not to cry. "Are you okay Skye?"

No, she wasn't okay. She was _not_ okay and she wanted May and Phil and she wanted to stop feeling the way that she was feeling.

She heard Ms. Hill stand up and felt her place a hand gently on Skye's shoulder, "Come on sweetie."

She led her out into the hallway and told her to wait there while she asked the teacher next door to keep an eye on her class. She heard her press some buttons on her phone and heard her ask for Phil and that was when she couldn't stop herself anymore. She started crying. She didn't even know _why_ she was crying. Everything just felt so wrong today and all of her emotions had been accumulating and had burst out of her like a volcano.

She kept crying and somehow heard Ms. Hill say that May and Phil would be here soon. She wanted them here _now._ She started to have trouble catching her breath. She felt Ms. Hill gently push her down so that she was sitting against the wall and instructed her to put her head between her knees. She did as she was told but it didn't seem to help her at all.

Ms. Hill's voice sounded desperate, "Skye, please try to calm down sweetie. I need you to breathe okay?"

Skye shook her head. She couldn't think. She couldn't focus on controlling her breathing. She couldn't do anything.

She felt Ms. Hill start to rub her back soothingly, "Skye, tell me what I can do to help you."

Skye didn't know what would help. She didn't even know what was wrong! She was still sobbing and trying to catch her breath but managed to say, "I… I want my mommy… and daddy. Are they here yet?"

"They'll be here any minute okay? But until then, can you try to breathe deeply for me?"

Skye tried to do as she was instructed but it wasn't helping. She felt her throat start to close up and she started panicking. Her vision started to get blurry and she was sucking in short gasps of air. She heard feet running down the hallway and suddenly May and Phil were there. She heard Ms. Hill tell them that she didn't know what happened but that Skye was having a panic attack. Skye didn't know if she'd ever had one of those before.

May and Phil kneeled in front of her and she desperately looked up at them. She was still having trouble breathing. "Skye, listen to my voice okay? You're safe here. Everything is all right. I need you to try to match your breathing to mine, okay? Take a deep breath in… and let it out."

Skye tried to match her breathing to May's but she was having trouble, "Mommy… I can't…breathe. I'm…scared."

"I know you are baby. Keep trying to match my breathing okay?" Skye did as she was told and felt May grab her hand and place it over her chest. She felt Phil grab her other hand and put it against his chest. Their heartbeats were off, but both of them were steady and strong. She focused on the feel of their hearts beating against her palms and that helped her to catch her breath.

When she was finally able to breathe again, the tightness in her throat went away and her vision went back to normal. She looked up at May and started sobbing harder.

May pulled her into a hug, "Oh my little baby. It's okay sweetie."

For the first time ever, Skye wasn't sure if she believed May and that made her cry even harder. Even if May said so, everything did _not_ feel okay. Everything felt broken.

She sagged against May and she felt the older woman hug her tighter. Her hand was still on Phil's chest and she tightened her hold on his shirt. Everything still felt wrong and off, but with May and Phil there, it felt a little better.

Ms. Hill cleared her throat, "You can take Skye home guys. I'll let the office know what happened and make sure everything is taken care of."

Phil spoke up, "Thanks Maria."

"Of course. Feel better Skye." Ms. Hill's worried tone made her feel even worse. She had upset her teacher and Ms. Hill had been nothing but nice to her. She heard Ms. Hill walk back into the classroom and she turned her head and hid her face in May's neck.

Out of everything that was going on, Skye didn't know what made her focus on one thing in particular. She had called May and Phil her mom and dad.

She kept her face hidden, "I'm sorry."

She felt May start to stroke her hair, "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault you had a panic attack, okay?"

It sure felt like it was her fault, but that wasn't what she was talking about, "No, I'm sorry I called you my mom. I didn't mean to."

Skye didn't know why she had called them her parents, it just felt natural to say. May and Phil said that she could live with them forever and that they were a family, but she didn't know if they would be okay with her calling them mom and dad. And it wasn't even about her doubting that they were her parent's anymore, like it had been before. She _knew_ that they were her mommy and daddy. They made her feel safe and happy and protected with them. She w _anted_ them to be her mommy and daddy, she still just wasn't sure if they wanted her to call them that.

May didn't even pause, "Don't ever be sorry for that okay? We _want_ to be your mom and dad. We love you Skye."

When Skye heard that, she jerked back and looked at May. Her face was open and kind and she didn't look like she was lying. She looked up at Phil; he was smiling gently at her but still looked a little worried.

Skye didn't think she heard May right, "You…love me?"

May nodded at her, "Yes, we love you very much."

Skye looked back to Phil and he was nodding too, "Are you sure?"

Phil smiled a little wider, "Yes Skye, we are absolutely sure."

Love. That was the warm feeling she got around her new family. She felt it whenever May helped her calm down or when she held her hand and when she waved at Skye every day when she picked her up from school. She felt it when Phil tucked her in at night and when she helped him make breakfast in the morning and when she hugged him. She felt it when Trip would make her a plate for dinner and when he told her that he was happy she was his sister. She felt it when Natasha interlocked their pinkies and when she smiled at her. She loved them.

She felt her eyes start to well up with tears at this realization, "I love you too."

She launched herself back into May's arms and hugged her tightly. She thought that this would scare her, realizing that she loved a new family and that they were _hers_ , but it didn't. It made her feel lighter.

She pulled away from May before throwing her arms around Phil. He picked her up and hugged her tight. He started swaying and after a minute he said, "How about we go home, make some hot chocolate, and have a little talk, okay?"

Hot chocolate sounded good and she really just wanted to go home. She nodded and rested her head on Phil's shoulder. She felt him start to walk down the hallway and smiled to herself. She still felt off and like everything was wrong, but she had a family now. She had a mommy and a daddy and they said that they loved her and she knew that she loved them.

* * *

What'd you guys think? I didn't plan on poor little Skye having a panic attack but it seemed like with everything piling up on her, that that would be a natural reaction. I'm actually prone to panic attacks and I know that if I was worrying about all of that, I would probably have one.

I know that some of you are anxious to meet Wanda and Pietro and I pinky promise that they will be in the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading and for those of you who take the time to you review. You are all awesome :) xx -Ariel


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! I went to the beach today and got soooo sunburnt. I'm too pale to live in Florida.**

 **I don't know why, but this chapter was difficult for me to write. I literally just stared at my computer screen for an hour before writing a little bit, deleting it all, and repeating that over and over again. Eventually I finished it and I hope you all like it!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and extra thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed my fic. You're all angels! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) xx**

* * *

When they got home, Skye followed May and Phil inside. She hadn't really felt like talking on the way home so she had just listened to Disney songs and shut her eyes. She was pretty tired, but then again, crying always made her feel sleepy.

She followed them into the kitchen and Phil set her on the counter before he started making hot chocolate. She dangled her feet and watched him start to heat up some milk. May set three mugs onto the counter and then wandered over to Skye and stood between her legs. May brushed her bangs out of her eyes and smiled at her. Skye leaned into May's chest and the older woman wrapped an arm around her. She felt better when she was snuggled close to May.

She didn't really know what had happened at school today. She had no idea why she had totally freaked out. No, she hadn't just freaked out, she had had a _panic attack_. Skye didn't really know what that meant, but she knew that she didn't like it. She still felt like something inside of her was off, but she felt a little better after hugging May and Phil.

Should she start calling May and Phil her mom and dad all the time now? She didn't really know. She felt like they were her mom and dad but it felt foreign for her to say that. She had never called anyone her mom and dad, except for Harvey's after their car accident, but they had been dead. For some reason, Skye didn't think that that counted.

Phil finished the hot chocolate and put little marshmallows on top. He motioned for them to follow him. May picked her up and brought her into the dining room. She set her down on one of the chairs and Phil placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of her before they both sat down across from her.

Skye took a sip of her hot chocolate and stared at them. She didn't really know what was going on.

May glanced at Phil before looking at her, "Skye, are you feeling a little better?"

Skye shrugged. She was feeling a _little_ better, but not much. She was still worried about Ward, nervous about the therapist, and anxious about meeting the twins. She didn't know what was going on inside of her. She just felt like a giant, jumbled mess. She felt better being around May and Phil, being around her mom and dad.

This time Phil spoke up, "That's good sweetie. Could you tell us what happened at school?"

Skye didn't know what to say. She had no idea what had happened at school today. "I don't know."

May nodded at her, "Okay, well, what were you feeling earlier?"

Skye wasn't really sure what she was feeling. She was feeling _everything_ and she wasn't sure what was what or what anything meant. She felt her eyes start to well up. There were so many things going on in her head right now, she didn't know how to explain it. "I don't know! I don't know what I was feeling or what happened!"

She had just yelled at May and Phil. She'd never yelled at them before. The tears in her eyes spilled over and she leaned back in her chair, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell!"

May leaned forward and Skye huddled further into the back of her chair. May gave her a pained look and leaned back, "It's okay Skye. What were you thinking about today?"

"I was thinking about…Ward, and the therapist, and about meeting Wanda and Pietro," she said everything quickly so that May wouldn't change her mind about not being mad.

Phil nodded at her, "And all of those things…they were making you nervous?"

Yes, now that he said it, she could match that with what she had been feeling. She nodded.

"Okay, so why do you think you're nervous about these things? Let's start with Ward. Why do you feel nervous about him?"

It was easier to think about this when Phil sectioned everything off like he did. "I don't know. What if he's mad at me for telling his secret? He'll hate me forever and won't want to be my friend anymore. What if he gets taken away from his family? He loves his little brother and doesn't want to leave him. What if I made everything worse rather than making it better?"

Skye was still crying and as she said everything that she had been thinking out loud, it made her cry even harder. She hid her face in her hands and sobbed.

She heard May say, "Oh sweetie, come here." Skye looked up and May was holding her arms out to her. She jumped out of her chair and ran over to her. May scooped her up, set her in her lap, and hugged her close. She cuddled into May and kept crying.

"Oh Skye, that's a lot to be thinking about. I called Social Services yesterday about Grant, okay sweetie? They called me back today and told me what happened. Grant's older brother had been hurting him and his little brother and his parents had been neglecting them, that means that his parents weren't taking care of him like they should be. They took him and his little brother away from them-"

Skye jerked her head up to look at May and cut her off, "They took them away from his family? He's going to hate me!"

May started stroking her hair and continued talking, "No Skye, they placed Grant and his little brother into a foster home together. Actually, Phil and I know the family that they were placed with and they're very nice people. They live in our town and I called them earlier. They said that they had no intention of splitting up Grant and his little brother. Skye, you did the right thing by telling me what was happening. Grant and his younger brother get to stay together and they can't be hurt by the rest of their family anymore. You helped them Skye."

Her tears slowed down as she listened to May. Grant and his little brother didn't get separated. They were living together with a nice family and they were never going to get hurt again. He still might be mad at her though. "But…what if he's still mad at me? I broke a promise."

Phil spoke up, "I don't think he'll be mad at you, Skye. You helped him by breaking that promise. But, if you're still not sure, we could take you to see him."

"Really?"

"If it'll make you feel better, then of course we will. We'll probably have to wait a week or two before we can go visit him so that they can all get settled in. Is that something you'd want to do?"

Skye thought about it. She still wanted to be Ward's friend but she didn't know if he still wanted to be hers. She needed to know what he was thinking. He could be mad at her, even though Phil and May said he probably wasn't. She needed to know for sure. All of this uncertainty was driving her crazy. So, she nodded at Phil.

"Okay sweetheart, we'll call them tomorrow and see when the best time would be for us to go and visit them."

May was still stroking her hair and she gently put a finger under Skye's chin so that she would look at her. "Does that make you feel a little better?"

Skye nodded. The knot that had been in her tummy since yesterday was getting looser.

May smiled at her, "Good, now why are you nervous about the therapist?"

Skye swallowed thickly. Natasha had made her feel better about seeing the therapist but there was still one main reason why she didn't want to talk to her. She tried not to think about it because when she did it made her feel really bad.

May leaned forward and kissed Skye's forehead. The little girl blinked up at her. She was still getting used to that. "You can tell us baby. We want to help you."

They had made her feel better about Ward. Maybe they could make her feel better about this. Skye looked away from May's kind face and stared intensely at the wall, "What if… what if she talks to me and can't help me because I'm broken?"

Because that was what Skye had been afraid of her whole life. She was _broken_. She was a _problem_. No family wanted her. They all took her back to the orphanage. Her r _eal_ parents didn't even want her, they had just dumped her at the front door of St. Agnes'. The one family that had ever actually wanted her, the Harvey's, had ended up _dead_. There had to be something wrong with her. She knew that there had to be something, and her biggest fear was that it would be confirmed: that the reason that everyone in her life didn't want her wasn't because of them, but because of her.

She heard May suck in a breath, "Skye, you aren't broken, why would you even think that?"

"Because! No one ever wanted me and when one family finally did, they _died_ May. Four whole families found something wrong with me and sent me back. My real parents didn't even keep me long enough to figure out that I was broken. They must have known when I was born!"

Skye was breathing really fast. She'd never actually said that out loud. She had thought about it, but saying it was different. It made it feel a little more real.

Phil's voice caused her to turn and look at him, "Skye, there is nothing wrong with you. You are _not_ broken. If your past foster families couldn't see how amazing you are, then that's their fault, not yours. You've been through a lot of really horrible things, things that no one should ever have to go through, but that doesn't make you broken. Look at you sweetheart, you smile and laugh and have fun with your friends and we all love you. I don't see anything broken."

May was nodding at what Phil was saying, "You aren't broken Skye. You're strong. I don't know how you managed to go through what you did and still be able to smile, but you do."

Skye didn't really know how to react to what she was hearing. May and Phil didn't think that she was broken, even though they had seen her cry a bunch of times and freak out over stupid stuff. They thought that she was strong and that there was nothing wrong with her. She was having trouble believing them, but she really wanted what they had said to be true. She wanted not to be broken.

"Now, why are you nervous about Wanda and Pietro?"

Skye just resigned herself to the fact that May and Phil had a knack for making her feel better about what was worrying her. "I'm scared that they won't like me."

Phil caught her attention, "Skye, have we ever broken a promise to you before?"

Skye scrunched up her nose. She didn't know what that had to do with Wanda and Pietro. "No."

Phil nodded, "Right, because we try to never break our promises, and I promise you that Wanda and Pietro will love you as much as we do."

Skye wanted to believe him, but how did he know that? He couldn't know that for sure.

This time May spoke up, "Were you nervous about meeting Natasha and Trip?

Skye nodded.

"Well you were nervous about nothing, weren't you? Natasha and Trip absolutely adore you and they love having you for a little sister. Wanda and Pietro will be the same way sweetie. They really want to meet you."

She _had_ been worried for nothing when she first met Natasha and Trip. If there was anything that Skye was sure of, it was that this family was nothing like the other families that Skye had lived with. They were a good family and if May and Phil said that Wanda and Pietro would like her, she would try to believe them.

Skye let out a breath, "Okay. I just… I really want them to like me."

May hugged her close, "They will baby."

She sat there hugging May for a little while. The knot in her tummy was almost gone. She was still a little bit nervous about everything, but it wasn't unbearable. She would talk to Ward and find out if he was mad at her or not, she would talk to the therapist and see how it went, and she would meet Wanda and Pietro tonight and hope that they would like her. She was still anxious but it wasn't consuming her. May and Phil had fixed her again. They seemed to always be doing that.

Skye wondered if this was what all good mommies and daddies did. Did they help you when you were feeling bad? Did they hug you when you were crying and make you feel better? Skye wasn't sure, but she knew that May and Phil did those things and she thought that they were a good mom and dad.

Phil leaned forward and rubbed comforting circles on her back, "Do you feel better now Skye?"

"Yeah."

"That's good sweetie. Can you look at me please?" Skye obliged and sat up in May's lap, "If you ever feel worried like you did today, please come talk to May or I. Actually, if you ever feel nervous or bad or sad or anything, come talk to May or I. That's what we're here for. We don't ever want you to feel like that again okay? We want you to be happy."

Skye nodded at him.

"Okay good, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Skye thought about it and shook her head. She wasn't really worried about anything else.

Phil smiled at her, "Okay, if you think of anything, May and I are always here for you."

Skye felt that familiar rush of warmth spread through her. She now knew that that feeling was what love felt like. She loved May and Phil and that didn't scare her like she thought it would. She tightened her hold on May's neck and leaned against her chest.

She yawned loudly. Today had been exhausting and she hadn't slept well at all last night. She was really tired.

May looked down at her, "Sleepy?"

Skye nodded.

"How about we go watch Tangled?"

"Yes!"

Skye ended up snuggled between May and Phil on the couch. Her head was resting on May's lap and her feet were resting in Phil's. She tried to focus on the movie but her eyes kept growing heavier and heavier.

"May? Phil?"

She heard them both respond to her before she said, "I love you," and then she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

When Skye woke up, she was still lying on the couch except now May and Phil weren't there with her and there was a blanket thrown over her. She was facing towards the back of the couch and rubbed her eyes before rolling over. She felt much better now that she had been able to sleep for a little while.

May was sitting on the chair in the living room watching the news. She turned to Skye before noticing that she was awake and smiling at her, "Hey sleepyhead. I was just about to wake you up. We're going to talk to Wanda and Pietro in a little bit. Are you hungry?"

Skye rubbed her eyes again and sat up. She pushed the blanket off of her and nodded. She hadn't eaten anything at lunchtime and all she had today was the toast that Phil had made her.

"Let's go make a snack."

She followed May into the kitchen and allowed the older woman to place her on the counter. "What do you want to eat Skye?"

"Um, an apple?"

May reached into the fruit bowl and handed her an apple. She bit into it and watched as May started loading the dishwasher with dirty dishes. "When are we going to talk to Wanda and Pietro?"

May looked over at her, "Well, it's 2:45 right now, so in about 15 minutes."

Skye nodded at her and went back to eating her apple. She was still nervous about meeting the twins but it wasn't all-consuming like it had been earlier. "Where's Phil at?"

May glanced at her but kept putting the dishes into the dishwasher, "He went to pick up Nat and Trip from school about 30 minutes ago. He should be back any minute."

She nodded again and watched May move around the kitchen as she ate her apple. She kept thinking about May and Phil being her mom and dad. They said that they wanted to be her mom and dad and didn't mind when she called them that. She wanted to test it.

She set her apple down on the counter and straightened up, "Mommy."

May had been putting clean dishes away, but had instantly turned to her when Skye said that. Skye smiled. She hadn't even hesitated! May had really meant it when she had said that she wanted Skye to think of them as her mom and dad.

When May saw her smile, she smiled back. Skye stood up on the counter so now she was taller than May. She pointed at her, "You're my mommy and you love me?"

May walked over so that she was standing in front of Skye, "Yes, and you're my little baby." May reached forward and tickled Skye's tummy. She shrieked and started laughing. May laughed with her and kept tickling her. Skye was wriggling around and finally May stopped. She grabbed her from the counter and held her close. Skye wrapped herself around May, "I love you very, very, _very_ much. I love you to the moon and back, more than all the stars in the sky."

Skye's eyes widened. No one had e _ver_ loved her that much. "Say it again."

May smiled and started swaying them gently, "I love you to the moon and back-"

Skye cut her off and finished for her, "more than all the stars in the sky."

May nodded and brushed a kiss against Skye's forehead, "Don't ever forget that okay?"

Skye snuggled closer to the older woman and sighed in content, "Okay mommy."

They stayed like that, with Skye tucked under May's chin and May swaying them back and forth in the kitchen, until the front door opened and Trip came running in with Natasha jogging behind him. Phil walked in after them and shut the door.

Trip spotted her and May, and made his way into the kitchen, "Mom! It's almost 3:00 we need to get the computer ready!"

Skye tried not to let it stress her out that she was going to be meeting her new brother and sister in a couple of minutes. She tried to focus on hugging May tighter and inhaling her flowery scent.

She felt May's voice rumble through her when she responded, "My laptop's on my bed. Why don't you go grab it and set it up in the living room? We can all sit in there and talk to the twins."

Trip nodded before throwing his backpack on the ground and sprinting upstairs. Phil sighed, picking up Trip's backpack and setting it on the dining room table. Skye saw Trip run back downstairs and put the laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch. He motioned for them to come over and they all made their way to the living room to sit around him on the couch. He pressed a couple of keys and sat back, "Okay, when they call, we'll be ready."

They sat there in silence for a couple of seconds. It made it harder for Skye to ignore the nervous feeling in her tummy, so she started playing with May's soft hair, causing the older woman to smile down at her.

She wasn't looking at the computer screen, so she didn't see the faces that were connected to the voices that suddenly invaded the room. "Hey guys!" and "You have no idea how happy we are to see you!" rang out from the speakers.

Skye turned to the laptop and saw two smiling faces on screen. Wanda and Pietro looked almost exactly like they had in the picture that Skye had knocked over, except now they looked a little older. Wanda's hair was longer and had waves in it. Instead of her black dress and red jacket, she was wearing a light blue hoodie. Pietro's hair was also a little longer and it somehow looked even lighter, which Skye did not think was possible. He was smirking at them. Skye felt herself start to shrink back into May but she stopped herself. She wanted to meet Wanda and Pietro, and May, Phil and Natasha had all told her that they would love her. She forced herself to straighten up.

She heard Natasha squeal and say, "I miss you guys so much! Talking on the phone is great and all, but it isn't the same as seeing you guys!"

Trip was smiling brightly, "When are you guys coming back? Pietro, we still have a score to settle. You may think that you're better than me at football, but you're wrong."

Pietro's smirk deepened, "I don't just _think_ that I'm better than you, I _know_ it."

Trip scoffed, "You're delusional."

"Then how do you explain why whenever we play against each other, I always win?"

"Because you were just lucky! Also, you cheat!"

Pietro pointed a finger at the screen, "I do not cheat! How do I cheat?"

Trip sputtered for a moment before saying, "I'm not exactly sure, but I know that you do!"

Pietro smiled at him, "I don't cheat, you're just a sore loser."

Trip smiled at him, "Whatever, I miss you guys."

This time Wanda spoke, "We miss you too. It's great over here, but we wish you were here with us."

Phil spoke up, "How're you guys doing? Do you get enough sleep? Are you being safe? Do you need money?"

Wanda grinned at Phil, "We're fine dad. We're being very safe and it's amazing over here. We probably don't sleep as much as we should, but what college student does?"

Pietro nodded along to what Wanda was saying and shrugged, "That's what coffee is for."

Skye was watching this exchange silently. She was fascinated with how Wanda and Pietro were interacting with everyone else. They were all talking like Wanda and Pietro weren't really far away right now. It felt natural and comfortable.

Suddenly, Skye saw Wanda's eyes focus on her, "Oh! You must be Skye! It's so nice to see you! Wow, you are so pretty!"

Skye blushed and heard Pietro speak, "We wish we could be meeting you in person, but we're several countries away at the moment."

"But we can't wait to come back home and play with you! Actually, we sent you a present in the mail. It should be getting there tomorrow. We express-shipped it."

Skye's eyes widened, they had gotten her a present? She wasn't really sure what to say to them, but the nervousness that she had been feeling evaporated. Wanda and Pietro weren't mean! They wanted to see her in person and play with her!

Wanda gasped a little before shaking her head, "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to say that I'm Wanda and this is my brother Pietro. We're very happy that you're in our family Skye."

Skye looked around at everyone, her family, before responding, "Me too." She already had an amazing new mommy and daddy, plus Nattie and Trip. Now she gets to add a new brother and sister to her ever-growing family.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Sorry to leave you hanging there but there's more Wanda and Pietro in the next chapter :)

Let me know what you guys think about my fic. Do you love it? Do you hate it? Give me some insight into what's going on in your beautiful brains!

Thank you so much for reading and can we please give a round of applause to my awesome beta, Gleevengers98? I'm telling you, she's a goddess among men! :) xx

-Ariel


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! This chapter has more Wanda and Pietro in it, as promised! I hope you guys like it :)**

 **Thank you for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and my badass beta, Gleevengers98, makes sure that there's no mistakes. xx**

* * *

Skye leaned back against May's chest as she listened to everyone. They were all talking excitedly and Skye didn't know half of what they were saying, but she loved listening to it. Wanda and Pietro had talked to her for a little bit, asking about her school, her friends, and about her room. Skye had forgotten her nervousness and answered them enthusiastically. She liked Wanda and Pietro.

May was asking them about their school stuff. They were saying a lot of really big words, but Skye noted how Wanda's eyes lit up and she got a little smile on her face when she talked about what she was learning. She saw how Pietro waved his hands around when he told them about their last research trip, and even though she was sad that they weren't here so that she could meet them in person, she was happy that they were happy.

It had been a while since they had started talking. Skye could tell that the conversation was starting to end and that made her sad. She wanted to know e _verything_ about Wanda and Pietro. Natasha and Trip said their goodbyes, Nattie actually teared up a little and that made Skye feel even sadder, before leaving the living room and going upstairs.

Wanda and Pietro both watched their retreating forms before Wanda said, "How are they?"

May answered, "They're fine sweetie. They both just really miss you guys. We all do."

Pietro put an arm around his sister before saying, "We miss you too. I wish you guys could mail yourselves over to us. What do you say Skye, do you think you could fit into an envelope so that mom and dad could send you over here?"

Skye tried to imagine squeezing into an envelope and giggled at the image in her head, "I'm too big!"

Pietro snapped his fingers and sighed, "Aw shucks. I guess we'll have to wait to see you in person."

That made Skye wish that she _could_ fit into an envelope. She hopped off of May's lap and moved closer to the computer screen, "I wish you guys were here so that I could see you."

Wanda made a sad sound, "Me too Skye."

Skye looked around the room before gathering enough courage to ask what had been on her mind, "Um… Do you… Are you…"

Skye chickened out before she could finish what she wanted to say.

Wanda leaned forward and rested her head on her hands, "Go ahead Skye."

Wanda's prompting gave her a little more courage, but she still refused to look at the computer screen, "Are you okay with May and Phil being my mom and dad too?"

This was important to Skye. In some of the foster homes she had been in, the real children of her foster parents didn't like it when Skye was around. They didn't want some foster kid to come in and steal their parents away from them. Skye knew that Wanda and Pietro had had parents before May and Phil, but May had said that the twins were their kids, even though it wasn't official. Skye didn't want them to think that she was trying to steal their mom and dad.

Skye rocked from side to side before she heard Pietro say, "What? Of course we are Skye."

Wanda nodded enthusiastically, "We love it when our family gets bigger! Of course it's okay, why wouldn't it be?"

Skye breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn't know what she would have done if they had said that it wasn't okay. She shrugged at them, "Some kids didn't like me because they thought I was trying to steal their parents. I want you to like me."

Pietro leaned towards the screen, "We think you're awesome Skye. We love that our mom and dad can be your mom and dad too."

Skye felt really warm when she heard that and smiled at them, "Okay."

She backed up into Phil's legs and heard him say, "I love you guys, but isn't it getting a little late over there? Go to sleep!"

Wanda looked at Pietro before laughing, "Oh dad, it's funny how you think that we don't have a _ton_ of work to do. We'll be up for another few hours."

May pointed a finger at them, "You two need to start getting to sleep earlier, do you hear me? I will not have two zombies for children." Skye thought of Wanda and Pietro shuffling around like zombies and giggled.

Wanda nodded seriously and said, "Yes ma'am," while Pietro raised two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute.

Skye saw that May was trying to be serious, but then she saw her lips twitch into a smile, "I love you guys. Call us when you can, okay?"

Pietro nodded, "Okay mom. We love you too. Bye dad."

May blew a kiss at them and Phil smiled and said goodbye. Skye thought that it was over but then the twins turned to her and smiled real big. Wanda leaned in so that her pretty face took up the whole computer screen, "Bye Skye. We hope you like the present we got you. We'll talk to you later."

She saw Pietro push his sister out of the way and Wanda glared at him, "I _know_ you'll love our present because _I_ picked it out."

Wanda scoffed and punched Pietro on the arm, "Don't listen to him Skye, we _both_ picked it out."

Pietro rolled his eyes, "Yeah, she's right. But you're still going to love it. Bye Skye!"

Pietro playfully winked at her and Wanda was smiling really big. Wanda and Pietro were awesome! She waved at them, said goodbye, and then their faces disappeared.

Skye looked back towards May and Phil and saw that May looked like she was going to cry. Why was she sad? What happened?

Skye rushed forward and climbed onto the couch. She sat on May's lap so that she was facing her and put a hand on each side of May's face, "Don't be sad mommy."

May breathed out a soft laugh, "I'm not sad Skye, I just miss my babies."

Skye took her hands off of May's cheeks and started stroking her hair like May did to her when she was upset. She tried to make her voice sound soothing like May's was when she was comforting her, "It's okay."

She heard Phil chuckle but kept her focus on May. She didn't look like she was going to cry anymore, she looked happy again.

May leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Thank you sweetie. You have a little bit of time until your therapist gets here. Why don't you go upstairs and play?"

"I don't know…" Skye didn't want to leave May just in case she was still sad and was just pretending to be better.

May laughed, "I appreciate your concern baby, but I'm fine. I promise." May leaned forward again and pressed her forehead to Skye's. Their faces were really close together and Skye could see straight into May's eyes, "Thank you for taking care of me sweetie."

Skye smiled. It always seemed like May and Phil were making her feel better and she had _finally_ gotten to help May feel better, "You're welcome Mommy." May leaned back and Skye scooted off her legs and ran up to her room.

She grabbed Alice from her bed and sat down in front of her dollhouse. She placed Alice in the kitchen of the dollhouse and pretended that she was making breakfast for her family. Alice was in the middle of making scrambled eggs when Skye heard her door open. She looked over and saw Natasha poke her head in, "Hi Nattie! Do you want to play with me?" Skye held out the blonde doll that she had named Perrie for Natasha to take.

The older girl smiled at her, took Perrie and sat down next to her by the dollhouse. She made Perrie wave to Alice before saying, "Skye, can I talk to you?"

Skye kept playing with Alice but said, "Of course Nattie."

Natasha laughed a little and made Perrie do some ballerina twirls, "Okay, well…I'm pretty nervous about my recital tomorrow."

Skye looked over to her to see if she was joking. She wasn't. She didn't know why Natasha was nervous. She was the best dancer Skye had ever seen! She set Alice down and scooted closer to her big sister, "Why? You're the best dancer ever!"

Natasha grinned at her and continued to make Perrie do some ballerina twirls, "Thanks Skye, but I'm afraid I'm going to mess up."

Skye remembered what Phil told her when he was helping her with her homework, "It's okay if you mess up, as long as you keep trying."

Natasha glanced at her, "You sound like dad."

Skye smiled really big, "Thanks!" She remembered what May had told her when she started her new school, "It's okay to be scared Nattie."

Natasha set Perrie down and turned so that she was facing Skye, "Yeah?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah."

Natasha let out a big breath, "Good, because I am… What if I fall down or forget something and look like a total idiot?"

Skye scrunched up her face. There was no way that Natasha would ever look like an idiot, she was awesome at everything. "You won't Nattie, you're the best at _everything_."

Natasha laughed, "Oh really? Everything?"

Natasha didn't believe her. Skye had to make sure that Nattie knew that she wasn't lying. She scooted closer to her and grabbed her sister's pinky, "Yes. You're the best dancer and the best drawer and the best at braiding hair. You're the best person to talk to and the best big sister in the whole wide world!"

Natasha suddenly leaned forward and hugged her. Skye was a little surprised but hugged her back. She heard Natasha whisper to her, "Thanks Skye. I needed that."

Skye leaned back and smiled at her. She had helped her big sister and it felt really good.

They went back to playing with the dolls until she heard the doorbell ring. She jerked her head up and looked at Natasha. She knew that that was her therapist and she felt her previous nervousness flood back into her.

Natasha stood up and offered Skye her pinky, "It's okay Skye. You don't have to be nervous about talking to her. She's really nice."

Skye pushed the nervousness away and tried to be brave like May said she was. She stood up with Alice in her hand, interlocked her pinky with Natasha's, and took a deep breath before following her sister out of the room and down the stairs.

Skye saw May and Phil talking to a tall lady with dark hair. They all turned to look at the two girls descending the staircase. Skye hid behind Natasha's legs. She wasn't being very brave but she couldn't help it, she didn't like strangers that much.

She heard the lady speak up. She had a soft voice and when she said a word, she pronounced each letter, "Natasha! It's so wonderful to see you, how have you been?"

Natasha gave Skye's pinky a reassuring squeeze before saying, "I've been great."

Skye heard the lady again, "That's very nice to hear. Is that Skye standing next to you?"

Skye poked her head around Natasha's legs and looked at the woman. Now that she was closer, she could see that the lady had scars on her face. She had three long scars on the right side of her face and one scar on the left side of her face that ran from the middle of her forehead to the middle of her cheek. Skye wondered how she got them and if they hurt. The lady had dark brown eyes and was smiling at her. She looked nice.

Natasha squeezed her pinky again and tugged on her a little bit. Skye took a step out from behind her and stood next to her, "Yes, this is my little sister, Skye."

The lady leaned down a little so that she didn't look so tall and looked Skye in to her eyes, "It's very nice to meet you Skye. My name's Jiaying, but you can just call me Jay."

Skye studied her. She _looked_ nice and Natasha had said that she didn't have to be nervous, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to be rude so she shyly waved at Jay.

May stepped forward and finally said, "Jay is your therapist Skye. Do you want to talk to her in your room?"

Skye nodded.

Jay nodded and turned to May, "This first session is mostly just an introductory session and it won't take too long, probably only about thirty minutes. Is that okay?"

May nodded, "That's perfectly fine." She turned to Skye, "Skye, we'll be down here if you need us, okay baby?"

Skye swallowed thickly but nodded. She didn't know if she wanted to be alone with Jay, even though she looked nice. Natasha made a move to untangle their pinkies but Skye gripped hers tighter, "Um…Is it okay if Nattie comes too?"

Jay looked over to Natasha and her sister nodded, "That's fine by me. Lead the way Skye."

Skye glanced at May and Phil. They both were giving her encouraging smiles so she took a deep breath, told herself to be brave, and led Natasha and Jay to her room.

They walked into her room and Skye saw Jay take everything in. "I really like your room Skye. Is that a dollhouse?"

Skye nodded and clutched Alice to her chest.

Jay smiled at her, "Do you want to play?"

Skye didn't know if she was kidding or not. Skye didn't know what therapists were supposed to do, but she didn't think they were supposed to play with dolls.

Jay laughed, "I want to play, do you mind?"

Skye was still confused but she shook her head and watched as Jay sat down in front of her dollhouse and reached for Perrie.

Skye ran over to her, "Wait! That's Nattie's doll! You can play with…" Skye reached for a brown-haired doll wearing jeans and a red t-shirt, "You can play with Jamie." She handed Jay the doll and the woman gently took if from her and smiled, "Thank you Skye."

Natasha grabbed Perrie and sat down by Jay. Skye didn't really know what was going on, but she sat down next to Natasha and went back to having Alice prepare scrambled eggs for her family.

For a minute or two, they all sat in silence and played with their respective dolls. Then, she heard Jay speak up, "So Skye, do you know why I'm here to talk to you?"

Skye shook her head. She just knew that therapists were supposed to help you feel better.

Jay made Jamie walk over to Alice and wave to her, "Well, your mom and dad told me that you've been through quite a lot and I'm here to help you work through some things that might still be troubling you."

That sounded okay to Skye.

Jay kept talking, "I just want you to know that I'm here to help _you_. You can say whatever you want to me. You can yell or scream or do anything and I won't get mad or yell at you. You're safe around me, okay?"

Skye felt some of her nervousness start to melt away. She turned Alice around so that she was facing Jamie and offered the doll some of her scrambled eggs. "I can do anything? Even yell?" Skye wasn't sure if she fully believed her. Wasn't yelling supposed to be bad?

Jay nodded at her, "If it'll make you feel better, then yes. Do you want to yell right now?"

Skye shook her head. She didn't like yelling, but it felt nice to know that she had the option to do so. Natasha made Perrie join Jamie and Alice in the kitchen and they all sat down at the table and ate their breakfast.

They were quiet for a little while before Jay spoke up again, "So, the first time we meet is just so that we can get to know each other a little. Tell me a little about yourself."

Skye shrugged. She didn't really know what to say.

Her silence didn't seem to bother Jay, "Well, I became a therapist because I like to help people, I have a dog named Pluto and I'm really bad at riding bikes. I always fall off them."

Skye wasn't able to stop herself from saying, "Is that how you got your scars?"

Her eyes widened when her brain finally caught up with her mouth, "I'm sorry!"

Jay waved a hand and didn't look mad. She was still smiling at Skye, "No it's okay. I got these scars because someone hurt me."

Skye felt sympathy flash through her. She knew what it was like to have scars because of someone else. She didn't want Jay to feel sad so she set down Alice and pulled her shirt up a little to show Jay the two scars on her tummy, "It's okay, someone hurt me too."

She heard Natasha suck in a breath and quickly pulled her shirt back down. She picked Alice back up again and felt Natasha grab her pinky with her own. She felt grateful that Nattie was here with her.

"It's never okay when someone hurts you on purpose, but thank you for trying to make me feel better Skye. You're very kind." Jay kept smiling at her and Skye thought that she was very pretty.

Skye grinned a little at the praise she was receiving. She didn't know if all therapists were like this, but she liked Jay.

"That's a beautiful doll you have there. What's her name?"

Skye pulled Alice close to her chest and ran her fingers through the dolls hair, "This is Alice. Nattie gave her to me and I love her. She lives her in the dollhouse with her family but she sleeps with me in my bed."

"She is very lucky to have you as her friend. Do you like playing with dolls?"

Skye nodded.

"What else do you like?"

This time Natasha spoke up, "Skye likes the stars and the moon, don't you маленькая звезда? That's why we put those stars on her ceiling."

Jay looked up at her ceiling and made an appreciative sound, "Those are really cool Skye. Why do you like the stars and moon so much?"

Skye thought it over for a second. She had _always_ loved the night sky. That was part of the reason she had chosen Skye as her name. "I don't know, the moon is always there, no matter what. It's always in the sky at night time and it never leaves. And the stars are just pretty. Don't you think they're pretty?"

Jay nodded, "I think that they're beautiful."

Skye was relieved that Jay didn't think it was weird for her to like the stars and the moon. After that, it was a little easier to talk to Jay. They kept playing with the dolls and just talked about random things. It wasn't how she thought therapy was supposed to be, but then she remembered that Jay said that this session was just about getting used to each other. She liked Jay. Maybe it would be okay to have her as a therapist.

Jay glanced at her watch and made an apologetic sound, "I've got to head out guys."

Skye groaned. They were in the middle of doing their dolls' hair. It was pretty fun.

Jay grinned and stood up. Natasha and Skye stood up after her and Jay said, "It was lovely to meet you Skye. Do you think it would be alright if I came over again and we talked some more?"

Skye thought about it for a second. Therapy wasn't _so_ bad. Natasha had been there with her and Jay was fun to talk to, so she nodded at her.

Jay's grin widened, "Great! I'll set an appointment up with your mom and dad. It was great seeing you again Natasha and I look forward to our next session Skye."

Natasha wrapped her arm around Skye's shoulders and said, "You too Jay. See you later."

Skye nodded and waved. The two girls watched Jay walk out of the room and down the hall. Natasha glanced down at Skye, "What'd you think? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Skye handed her Perrie and sat back down, "No, it wasn't so bad."

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What'd you guys think? In this fic, Jiaying isn't Skye's biological mom, just her therapist. Thank you to GothicPheonix for the idea of using her as the therapist.

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Some people have been asking about Jiaying being Skye and Nat's therapist and I just wanted to say that in this fic, she's just a kind therapist, not the totally crazy nutball that she was in the season finale!**

 **I hope you like that chapter and please let me know what you guys think! I love reading your reviews :) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) xx**

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When Skye woke up the next morning, she groaned, clutched Alice to her chest, and tried to go back to sleep. Then she remembered that Wanda and Pietro's present was supposed to come in today and her eyes snapped open. She threw her covers off of her, put on some clothes, and ran downstairs. She could see Phil in the kitchen, like usual, and sprinted towards him. He looked up as he heard her, smiled, and held open his arms. She ran to him and he picked her up and spun her around once before placing her on his hip.

She wrapped one arm around his neck and grinned, "Is my present here yet?"

Phil laughed a little and went back to making pancakes with Skye in one arm, "Not yet sweetie. It should be here when you get back from school."

Skye deflated a little. She really wanted to know what Wanda and Pietro had gotten her. Should she get them a present too? She wasn't really sure what they liked. Maybe she could ask Natasha and Trip to help her pick one out for them?

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't worry sweetheart. It'll be here before you know it." Phil flipped the pancakes over and started swaying gently.

Skye didn't think she could wait any longer. She wanted her present now, but she couldn't _make_ it get here faster. She would just have to wait.

Phil handed her a bag of chocolate chips, "Let's put some chocolate chips in these next ones, okay? Natasha's recital is today and we always make chocolate chip pancakes for good luck."

Skye took the bag from him and nodded, "Can I draw something special in Natasha's pancake?"

Phil nodded, "Sure, just make sure you do it before the batter starts to heat up too much."

Skye said okay and watched as Phil scooped the pancakes off of the griddle before placing them on the plate that was sitting on the counter. He looked over to her, "Ready?" Skye nodded and he started pouring the batter into circles on the griddle. He finished and leaned forward so that Skye could place some chocolate chips into the bubbling pancakes. Phil put some in all of the pancakes except for the one Skye was working on. She was focusing on arranging the chips into a heart.

She put the last of the chocolate chips on the pancake and grinned. It was a little lopsided, but it still looked okay. She looked over to Phil and he was smiling at her, "It's for extra good luck."

Phil squeezed her gently and said, "She'll love it Skye."

She grinned and helped him flip the pancakes. May wandered in and kissed them both on the cheeks before grabbing a glass of orange juice. Skye stayed with Phil and watched as he unplugged the griddle and put two pancakes on a plate. He put a normal one on the bottom and stacked the pancake with the heart on it on top. He set Skye down, handed her the plate, and said, "Why don't you go wake Nat up and give this to her?"

She carefully held the plate close to her chest and smiled up at him, "Okay."

She carefully walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs because she didn't want to drop Natasha's pancakes. She made sure that the plate was steady in her hand before she opened the door to Natasha's room. She looked in and saw that Natasha was already awake and dressed. She was twirling around her room and didn't notice that Skye was watching her.

She pushed her way inside the room and hovered by the door. Natasha stopped twirling and smiled at her. "What're you doing Nattie? You're usually still sleeping."

Natasha grinned sheepishly, "I couldn't sleep that well so I thought I'd get up and practice for today."

That made sense so Skye shrugged and offered her the plate of pancakes, "I made these for you. For good luck."

Natasha took the plate from her and saw the heart on her pancake. She smiled, "You made this?"

Skye nodded.

"Thank you Skye. This is awesome." Natasha leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Skye's shoulders and Skye smiled real big.

"Let's go downstairs and eat. Could you grab my backpack for me?" Natasha motioned towards her desk and Skye saw her black backpack hanging from her chair. She ran over to it and lifted it from the chair. She grunted. It was really heavy!

Natasha looked over to her, "Sorry Skye, I forgot. It's heavier than usual. I'm going straight to the dance studio after school so I have to carry more than I usually do. Here," She offered Skye the plate of pancakes and took the backpack from her hands. Skye gratefully traded with her.

"So I won't see you until tonight?"

"Not til after the recital is over." Natasha shrugged at her. Skye thought that she was still nervous about her recital because she was walking stiffer than usual.

She followed Natasha downstairs and saw that Trip, May and Phil were already sitting at the table and eating pancakes. Someone had made a plate for her so she sat down and started eating. Natasha sat down next to her and poured maple syrup over her pancakes.

May smiled at Natasha, "You excited for today?"

Nattie played with her fork and was looking at her pancakes when she answered, "Yeah, but I'm a little nervous."

"You'll be fine sweetie. You're an amazing, beautiful, and talented dancer."

Natasha grinned, "Thanks mom." She went back to eating her pancakes and May turned to Skye, "I'm going to be taking Natasha to her dance studio after school, so Phil will be picking you up today okay?"

Skye nodded at her. She was a little upset that she wouldn't be able to see Natasha until after her recital was over. She would have to wish her good luck this morning and what if she forgot by the time her recital started?

Trip glanced at his watch, "We gotta go you guys. My club meeting starts in ten minutes."

May hopped up, "Let's go!"

Skye looked around in confusion. Hunter usually drove Natasha and Trip to school. Phil saw her confused look and said, "Trip has to get to school earlier than usual so May's going to take them today. I'll drive you to school sweetie."

Skye nodded and stood up so that she could say goodbye to everyone. She hugged Trip and he smiled and ruffled her hair as he went to grab his backpack. She put her arms around May's waist and squeezed her tight before saying goodbye. Then she turned to Natasha and tugged on her arm so that she would lean down a little. She put her arms around the older girl's neck and hugged her, then she spoke softly so that no one else would hear, "Good luck Nattie, I love you."

Natasha jerked back and stared at Skye. Then she smiled really big and leaned in to whisper, "I love you too Skye," before squeezing her hand and following May and Trip out the door.

Skye _did_ love Natasha. She didn't know how amazing it could be to actually have a sister until Natasha had showed her what it was like. Having a sister was like having a best friend that you lived with, and Skye loved that she could talk to Nattie about anything and she wouldn't make fun of her for it.

She kept smiling and heard Phil say, "It's just you and me kiddo. Why don't you go brush your teeth and we'll head out of here?"

Skye nodded and ran upstairs to brush her teeth. She grabbed some hair ties and clips and took them with her downstairs. Phil was still sitting at the table so she walked over and stood in front of him. She held out the hair ties, "Will you braid my hair?"

The face that Phil made was really funny. He looked scared! Skye giggled and shook the hair ties in front of his face until he took them from her, "Uh, sure Skye." Skye turned around and felt Phil start to mess with her hair.

After a couple of minutes she heard Phil groan. "Skye, does it have to be braids or can I do something else?"

Skye thought about it for a second and shrugged, "You can do something else."

She heard him release a big breath, "Thank god."

When Phil was done, she ran to look at her reflection in the mirror in the hallway. Phil followed her and she looked back to him and saw that he looked anxious. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She didn't look bad! Phil was okay at doing hair, but Nattie was way better. He had put pigtails in her hair and had tied a white bow on each of them.

She looked back to Phil and he still looked nervous, "Are they okay?"

Skye smiled at him, "Yeah, they're okay. Maybe Nattie could teach you how to braid though."

Phil laughed, "I'll ask her later, now let's go sweetie."

Phil offered her his hand and she took it before following him out of the house and into the car.

* * *

Skye had _really_ tried to focus in school, but all she could think about was her present and Natasha's dance recital. She really wanted to know what Wanda and Pietro had gotten her and she was super excited to watch Nattie dance. Ms. Hill had had to remind her to focus on her math worksheet during work time, and even though she hadn't yelled at her, Skye had blushed and felt embarrassed.

But now it was the end of the day and Ms. Hill was leading them outside so that they could go home with their parents. Ms. Hill held the door open for them and as Skye passed her, she paused. She looked down at her shoes but spoke loud enough so that her teacher could hear her, "I'm sorry I was bad today."

"You weren't bad Skye, everyone has trouble focusing sometimes. It's okay."

Skye looked up and Ms. Hill didn't look mad at her, she was smiling. Skye instantly felt better. She smiled up at her teacher and waved goodbye before walking out into the sunshine and looking around for Phil. She saw him standing by one of the trees and started to make her way over to him.

She was almost to Phil and she saw him waving at her. She started to wave back but suddenly someone pushed into her and she fell to the ground. She looked up and a kid a little bit older than her was standing by her looking guilty, "I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, I didn't mean to knock you down."

He looked like he meant what he was saying so Skye smiled at him and said, "It's okay."

The kid smiled back before running off. She was still sprawled on the ground but nothing hurt, she just had some dirt on her elbows. She heard Phil calling her name, glanced over, and saw him jogging towards her. She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her.

Phil made it to her and crouched down. He started looking her over for injuries and said, "Are you alright? Who was that kid?"

"I'm okay daddy. It was just an accident."

Phil stopped fussing over her and just stared. She glanced worriedly at him. Had someone accidentally knocked him over too?

Phil kept staring at her until she realized what she had said. She had called him her dad. Out loud. She had only thought it before. Maybe he didn't want to be called that? She thought that since May liked it when she called her mommy that Phil would like it when she called him her dad, but maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he doesn't want that.

Skye started to panic. Phil was still staring at her in silence so she fidgeted from foot to foot and looked at the ground, "Uh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. You don't have to be my dad if you don't want to." Skye felt tears start to pool in her eyes and stared determinedly at the ground. She _wanted_ Phil to be her dad.

Suddenly she was in Phil's arms and he was hugging her. She was a little confused. Maybe he _had_ been knocked over and had hurt his head. "Um. Are you okay?"

She leaned back and looked up and into Phil's face. He was smiling real big, Skye could see all of his teeth, and his eyes looked watery. She was starting to get worried. "I'm sorry Skye. I was just surprised that's all. I would _love_ to be your dad. I would absolutely love it."

Skye felt relief flood through her and hugged Phil back. She didn't know what she would have done if Phil had said he didn't want to be her dad. She didn't even want to think about it. He picked her up and made his way back to the car, "Let's go see if your present is waiting for you at home."

Skye squealed and had a hard time sitting still so that Phil could buckle her into her booster seat.

* * *

Skye sprinted up the walkway, up the front porch, and bounced up and down by the door as she waited for Phil to unlock the door. She glanced over and saw a small box sitting on the ground on the right side of the doorway, "Is that it? Is that my present?"

Phil stooped down and picked up the box. He read the information on the front of it and grinned, "This is for you Skye."

He handed it to her and Skye clutched it close to her chest. Phil unlocked the door and she bolted inside. She threw her backpack on the ground and ran to the table. She gently set the box on the table before she sat down and tried to open it.

The box wouldn't open.

She groaned in frustration and suddenly Phil was there. He had a knife in his hand and gently moved Skye's hands out of the way before cutting open the box. He sat down next to her and Skye excitedly reached into the box.

She pulled out a piece of paper, it was thick and had writing on it, and a smaller box. She knew that when you got a gift, you were supposed to read the card first, so she set the smaller box on the table and started to read the card, "Dear Skye, We saw this in a little sh...shop, and cou…couldn't help but think of you. Natasha told us that you wo…woul…would like it. Pl…please think of us when you w…wear it. Love, Wanda and Pietro."

Skye reread the card in her head and stared at the handwriting. There were two different kinds of handwriting and each line was written in a different one. When Wanda signed her name, Skye saw that she was the one who had the small, loopy handwriting and Pietro was the one with precise, blocky handwriting. She smiled at the card and traced the words with her finger.

She gingerly set the card onto the table and picked up the small box. It was a deep blue color and Skye carefully took the lid off. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

Sitting on white, fluffy paper was the most beautiful necklace that Skye had ever seen. It had a golden bronze colored chain and at the end of the chain was a light blue bead. Below that bead hung a crescent moon. It was intricately designed and had pretty swirls decorating the inside of it. Dangling from the top tip of the moon was a star. Skye loved it.

She reached for it but then jerked her hand back. She didn't want to ruin it. It was the most beautiful thing that Skye had ever been given and she didn't want to mess it up. Phil leaned over and looked at it, "Oh Skye, that's so pretty. It'll look great on you."

Skye nodded and continued to look at the necklace. She could feel Phil looking at her, "Do you want me to put it on you?"

Skye really, _really_ , wanted to wear it but she didn't want to ruin it. She glanced at Phil and worriedly nibbled on her bottom lip, "What if I break it?"

Phil gave her a reassuring look, " _If_ you break it, which I don't think you will, we can go and get it fixed."

That made her feel better. She handed Phil the box and he took the necklace out and motioned for her to turn around. She did as she was told and felt him place the necklace around her neck and attach the clasps together. He pulled her hair out from under the chain and she turned back around. She looked down and saw the moon and star pendant hanging from her neck. She loved it. She looked up at Phil and saw that he was smiling at her, "How does it look daddy?"

"It looks beautiful Skye."

That made Skye smile really big. She had to thank Wanda and Pietro for her present. She didn't know when they would call next, but Skye had to make sure that she was there so that she could talk to them and thank them. She put her hand over her necklace and lightly grasped the pendant. The metal was cool in her hands and it made her feel happy.

Phil spoke up, "Why don't we get your homework done so that you can play until Natasha's recital?"

Skye hated homework but she didn't even care. She couldn't stop smiling. She went and got her backpack from the ground in the living room and sat back down next to Phil, her hand firmly grasped around her pendant the whole time.

* * *

When May _finally_ got home after dropping Natasha off at her dance studio and stopping by the grocery store to pick up a few things, she noted that they had about an hour before they had to be at the auditorium for the recital. She had had to drop Natasha off at the studio so that she could run through her dances with her group before the recital, but the actual performance was going to be held at Renley's Performing Arts Auditorium, which was where all the local plays and other artsy things were held at, so Natasha would ride over there with her dance instructors.

She was holding a couple of grocery bags so she handed Trip the keys and he opened the front door for her. She walked in and set the bags down on the kitchen counter. She was putting some things away when she heard little feet running around upstairs. She smiled as she heard Skye run down the stairs. She turned and grinned at the little girl sprinting towards her. She had on jeans and a green t-shirt. She had a grass stain on her right knee and a huge smile on her face. Her hair was in two long pigtails with bows on each one. She was adorable.

"Mommy! Look at what Wanda and Pietro got me! Look!" Her heart still skipped a beat when she heard Skye call her 'mommy'. It was an amazing feeling to have Skye trust her enough to call her her mom and May loved that little girl like she was her own daughter. It had been the same way with all of her children, but she never got used to the strong rush of feelings her children managed to elicit.

The little girl was still running at her and when she got close enough, she jumped. May caught her in midair and lifted her up. Skye wrapped her legs around her waist and May held her so that they were face to face, "What's up buttercup?"

Skye was smiling brightly and it made May feel overjoyed to see the little girl so happy. She remembered when the slightest sound would cause Skye to start crying. She had come a long way in the last two weeks that she had been here.

Skye grabbed onto the necklace hanging around her neck and held it in front of her face. May studied it and smiled. It was the perfect gift for Skye. The twins must have had Natasha or Trip help them with it, otherwise they wouldn't have known how much Skye liked the stars and moon.

"Oh baby, that is just beautiful!"

Skye kept smiling but blushed a little. She moved the necklace back to her chest but kept her hand grasped around it. "Thanks."

May smiled and set Skye on the counter. She finished putting away the rest of the groceries and asked her, "Are you excited about Natasha's recital?"

She was setting eggs in the refrigerator, but heard Skye say, "Yeah! I think Nattie was nervous though."

May _knew_ that Natasha was nervous. Her daughter got extremely nervous doing anything in front of a crowd, whether that is presenting a project or dancing. She would always psyche herself out beforehand and then do an amazing job anyways. It always happened, and May constantly tried to help Natasha calm her nerves, but nothing seemed to help.

"Nat's always a little nervous when she has to perform in front of a crowd, but she'll be fine baby."

She put the last of the groceries away and looked over at Skye. She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Skye was worried because Natasha was nervous. Her little girl had such a kind soul.

May walked over to Skye and stood between her legs, "Nat will be fine Skye. She's _always_ nervous before her recitals and she _always_ does an amazing job anyways."

Skye stopped nibbling on her bottom lip and nodded.

May brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "How about you go get changed for the recital? We'll have to leave soon."

Skye scrunched her nose up and looked down at her outfit, "Why do I have to change?"

May chuckled, "Because we're supposed to look nice at dance recitals. Come on, I'll help you choose an outfit."

Skye nodded and May set her down on the ground and followed her up to her room. Skye sat on her bed and May pulled out two different dresses from Skye's closet. One had spaghetti straps and was dark gray with multicolored pastel polka dots all over it. The other one had long sleeves and was light pink with a white peter pan color. May held up the two dresses and watched Skye tilt her head to the side and consider them both. After a minute or two, she pointed to the pink dress and May handed it to her before putting the other dress back.

"Why don't you put this on and I have the perfect shoes for you to wear. I went to the mall on my lunch break and saw them and thought of you. I'll go grab them."

Skye nodded to her and May went back downstairs and got the bag of shoes from the back of her car where she had forgotten them. She had actually gotten Skye a couple of new pairs of shoes because she had realized that the little girl only had one pair of sneakers to wear.

When she walked back into the room, Skye's arms were stuck in her dress and May couldn't help but chuckle. She rushed over to the little girl and helped her pull her dress down. Skye's pigtails were messed up because of the whole ordeal but she was smiling at her.

"I actually got you a couple of new shoes," She saw Skye start to shake her head but kept talking, "because I _wanted_ to."

Skye stopped shaking her head and May smiled. She pulled out a shoe box and handed it to Skye, "I think that you'll like these the best."

Skye took the box from her and opened it up. She squealed and pulled the small black combat boots out of the shoebox. May had seen them in the store and couldn't not buy them. Skye would look adorable in them and something told her that Skye would appreciate how tough they would make her look.

Skye pulled them onto her feet and May had to help her lace them up but she didn't mind. Skye stood up and admired her feet. She walked around a little bit and jumped up and down. She ran over to May and wrapped her arms around her waist, "I love them!"

May laughed, "I thought that you would."

Skye pressed her face into May's belly and said, "Thank you mommy."

May hugged her tighter, "You're welcome sweetie. How about we fix your hair and then you can help me get ready?"

Skye nodded and stepped back. May redid her pigtails and tied neater bows into the little girl's hair. She couldn't stop the "aww" that escaped her mouth when she saw Skye standing in front of her in her pink dress, pigtails and combat boots. Skye looked absolutely adorable.

Skye tugged on her hand and started to lead her into the hallway, "Your turn!"

May already had nice slacks on, she just needed to change into a nicer shirt, so she went into her closet and chose an off-white blouse and a deep red one and brought them out for Skye to choose. She enjoyed watching Skye seriously consider each option, as if this decision was life or death, and liked that Skye was having fun. The little girl ended up choosing the off-white blouse and May nodded and went back into the close to put the other shirt away and tug on the new blouse.

She walked back into the room to see Phil gushing over Skye, "Oh sweetie you look adorable!"

Skye stood up on the bed and held out her foot, "Look at my new shoes daddy! Don't they look really cool?"

Phil pretended to intensely inspect Skye's boots before saying, "They are _very_ cool Skye. I think that I'll definitely have to take a picture of you, Nat and Trip later tonight."

Skye smiled at him, "Okay. Are we going now? I want to see Nattie!"

Skye's enthusiasm was contagious and May walked towards her and offered the little girl her pinky, "Yes, we're going now. Let's get Trip and hit the road."

Skye grinned up at her and intertwined their pinkies before tugging May out of the room.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Because of this websites weird policies, I can't show you the link to Skye's necklace, but if you want to type "Mystical Moon Necklace, Crescent Moon and Star Necklace" into google, it should be the first result to pop up.

I hoped you guy's liked this chapter and please tell me what you guys think! Thank you for reading xx -Ariel


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! This chapter includes Nat's dance recital, and I _do_ have certain dances that I used as inspiration. Due to this website's policy on not sharing URL's, if you want to see Nat's ballet dance you can type 'Trio Odalisques, Katia Alymayeva, Gillain Fitz, Nina Putlak at YAGP NYC FInals 2011' into youtube and if you want to see her other dance, type in 'Dance Moms: Group Dance: The Domino Effect'.**

 **I'm just going to warn you right now that I did gymnastics as a kid and play soccer and softball now, so if I come off as not knowing anything about dance, that's because I don't. :) I'm sorry if my terminology is terrible, please please forgive me.**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) xx**

* * *

Skye jumped out of the car after Phil unbuckled her from her booster seat and looked around. They weren't at the dance studio. May had said that Natasha was going to be performing at an auditorium instead, and the building was _huge_. She saw families dressed in very nice clothes walking from their cars to the front entrance. Skye was happy that May had helped pick out her outfit. She was especially happy about the boots that May had gotten her because they made her feel super tough.

She followed May, Phil, and Trip into the building and looked around. The front room was very big and open. It had pictures hanging on the walls and there were people dressed in uniforms handing out papers. Families were wandering around and chatting with each other. Skye scooted closer to May because there were a lot of people. One group of people started laughing really loudly and Skye clutched onto May's leg. They were really loud, and now that she looked closer, the room seemed to be getting busier and busier. She grabbed onto her necklace and rubbed the moon pendant. It made her feel a little better.

Another group of people started talking loudly and she tightened her hold on May's leg. She felt a hand start rubbing her back and looked up. May was looking at her worriedly, "Are you okay sweetie?"

Skye tried to be brave, but just then a really tall man walked by and got really close to her and she unintentionally flinched away.

She felt someone gently take her hand. She looked over and saw Trip standing by her. He smiled down at her, "Let's go get sit down. We want to get good seats so that we can see Nat perform."

Skye nodded and stuck close to Trip as they went to find their seats. May and Phil each grabbed a pamphlet and led them into a room with a giant stage and a whole bunch of seats. Trip tightened his hold on her hand and she heard him say, "Let's find a seat right in the middle. Natasha twirls around like a freaking tornado on stage and I don't want to miss it." Skye looked up and nodded enthusiastically. She didn't want to miss anything either.

They found some open seats towards the front of the stage and in the middle, like Trip had wanted, and went to sit down. They had to scoot past a family sitting towards the end of the aisle and Skye sat down between May and Trip. She frowned immediately. There was a woman sitting in front of her and she couldn't see the stage. She leaned to the left and to the right but still could not see. She even tried straightening up so far that her back started to hurt, but nothing helped. She turned to May and tugged on her sleeve, "I can't see."

May motioned for her to stand up and then held out her hands. Skye raised her arms and let May pick her up and set her on her lap. Skye had no trouble seeing the stage now. There was another lady sitting in front of May, but she was shorter than the one sitting in front of Skye's seat. Plus, Skye was taller when she was sitting on May's lap. She saw Trip move over to her old seat and leaned back against May's chest. The older woman wrapped her arms around Skye's waist and the little girl started playing with her fingers.

Skye sat there for a couple of minutes, alternating between playing with May's fingers and twiddling her moon pendant between her hands, before she looked up to May, "When can we see Nattie?"

May pulled out the flyer she was given and opened it up, "Why don't we find out?"

Skye nodded and leaned forward so that she could see the paper. There were a lot of names on it.

"Nat usually does contemporary and ballet, so let's find her… Here she is!" May pointed to Natasha's name. Skye saw her name twice, so she assumed that she would be doing two dances. "She's going to be in the second dance and in the last dance."

Skye nodded and took the flyer from May's hands. She studied it and focused on where she saw Natasha's name. She traced the letters for a minute or two and then handed the flyer back to May.

After another couple of minutes, she felt herself start to grow restless. She wanted to watch Nattie dance now! "Mommy, when is it going to start?"

She saw May glance at her phone and say, "In a couple of minutes sweetie."

Skye groaned and she heard Phil say her name, "I'm going to be taking pictures so that we can send them to Wanda and Pietro. Do you want me to take one of you, May, and Trip?"

Skye nodded and saw him raise his camera to his face. She felt Trip lean in beside her and she scooted over so that he could be seen. She grabbed May's leg and smiled when Phil told them to say cheese. He took the picture and showed it to her. She liked it. They were all smiling and looked like a happy family, which is what Skye had always wanted. She took the camera from Phil and said, "Can I take a picture?"

Phil nodded and showed her what button she needed to push. She carefully held it, making sure that it was steady in her hands so that she didn't drop it, and turned to Trip. She pointed the camera at him and he made a silly face. She took the picture and giggled when she looked at it. Trip was sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes.

She turned to May and pointed the camera at her, "Mommy! Look at me!" May looked over to her and saw the camera. She made a kissy face and Skye took the picture. She shifted to that she was facing Phil. He was already looking at her and when she pointed the camera at him, he made a goofy face. She took the picture and looked at it. She couldn't help but laugh at the snapshot. Phil's eyes were squeezed shut and his face was scrunched up.

The lights started to dim down and everyone stopped talking. Skye looked around and felt Phil take the camera back from her. The recital must be starting.

She heard a lady's voice talking and tried to see where it was coming from but couldn't find a source, "Welcome to Spotlight Dance Studio's annual recital! Thank you so much for coming out and supporting our amazing dancers! We have a very special show for you tonight, so sit back and enjoy the performances put on by our very dedicated and talented dancers!"

May whispered in her ear, "The tap dancers are up first."

Skye nodded even though she didn't know what tap dancers were.

She watched as the red curtain opened up and revealed about six girls in sparkly pink and silver dresses and nude colored shoes. They looked like they were ten years old and they were posing with their hands on their hips and smiling at the audience. Skye thought that they all looked pretty. Then, the music started to play and Skye gasped.

The girls moved their legs really, _really_ , quickly, and every time their foot moved, it made a loud tapping sound. Skye now understood why they were called tap dancers.

She watched as they danced around the stage, their taps going along with the beat of the music. They all moved around in sync with each other and Skye couldn't believe how fast their legs were moving.

They finished their dance and took a bow before exiting the stage. The curtains closed again and May whispered to her again, "Nat's ballet group is up next."

Skye straightened up and tried to sit still even though she was really excited to watch Nattie dance.

The curtains opened back up and Skye watched as Nattie and two other girls gracefully entered the stage and posed. Nattie was in the middle and her costume was a two piece. The top was a light bluish green color. The bottom was the same blue color with white and had a really big skirt. It kind of looked like a circle but Skye knew that ballerina's wore tutus, so it must be a tutu.

The music started playing and Skye watched as the girls started leaping and kicking and gracefully moving their hands around. They balanced on their tippy toes a lot and Skye wondered if it hurt. She kept her eyes on Nattie the whole time and saw how she kept a small, but concentrated smile on her face. At some point in the song, she twirled off the stage and went back behind the curtains while one of the other girls danced by herself. Then Nattie twirled back on stage and went back to leaping in the air and swinging her body around in ways that Skye didn't even know was possible.

She was enthralled. The dance was over too soon and the three girls stood in a row and curtsied gracefully before exiting the stage. The people in the auditorium started clapping so Skye started clapping too. She heard Trip whistle and she made sure to clap really loudly so that Nattie knew that she was watching and thought that she did amazing.

She looked back to May and saw that the older woman was smiling widely, "That was so good! How did she _do_ that?"

May kept smiling but shrugged, "Natasha is very talented and works hard. She's an amazing dancer."

Skye couldn't agree more.

After that, they sat through jazz routines, hip hop numbers, another ballet dance, a couple of musical theater and contemporary performances and one acrobatic number before Natasha's next dance. She only knew all this because May would helpfully whisper to her what type of dance would be performing next. Skye thought that all of the dances were amazing, but Nattie's ballet had been the best. She was excited to see her dance again.

May whispered to her, "This is the last performance. Nat's in it." Skye nodded and kept her eyes on the stage.

The curtains opened and the stage was empty until the music started playing and five girls ran out onto it. Natasha was the third girl to run on stage and her costume was beautiful. It was black and white and had a ruffley skirt. Her hair was up in a bun and it was decorated with a pretty headpiece.

Skye had really, really liked Natasha's ballet performance, but she absolutely fell in love with this new dance. It felt more emotional than the last one and while Natasha was dancing, her facial expressions changed and showed anguish and sadness. Skye didn't know that dancing was kind of like acting until she watched Natasha move around the stage.

The dance would start slow and then speed up and then repeat. Nattie twirled a lot in this dance and she looked beautiful. She could tell that Nattie was the leader in this dance because she would sometimes break away from the rest of the girls and do something differently. Skye wished that she could do what Natasha did.

The song ended and the dancers curtsied before gracefully exiting the stage. Everyone clapped again and Skye heard the lady's voice call all the dancers back out onstage. Everyone came back onto the stage and lined up before bowing. Skye spotted Natasha and waved at her. Natasha was scanning the crowd and finally saw them. She smiled really big at them and waved before following everyone else off of the stage.

May grabbed Skye from under her arms and lifted her up while she stood up. She placed Skye on her hip and said, "We'll go meet Nat in the lobby."

Skye nodded and started waving her hands around excitedly, "She was so good! Wasn't she so good? Nattie is awesome!"

May laughed and agreed with her. They followed Trip to the lobby and stood around talking for a couple of minutes before Skye saw a bunch of dancers walk out of a door and towards their respective families. She craned her neck and searched for Natasha. She saw her bright red hair first and wriggled around so that May would put her down. The older lady obliged and she sprinted towards Natasha. She wasn't even afraid that she was running _away_ from May and Phil.

She ran up to Natasha and threw her arms around the older girl's waist, "Nattie, you were so good! I wish I could dance like you! You were awesome!"

Natasha wrapped her arms around Skye and laughed, "Thank you маленькая звезда."

Skye leaned back and looked up and into Natasha's face, "You didn't mess up! I told you that you wouldn't! Because you're the best at everything, remember?"

Natasha laughed even harder, grabbing Skye's hand and walking towards May and Phil, "Yeah, I remember. I think you're my little good luck charm Skye."

Skye smiled real big when she heard that. She had never been anyone's good luck charm before.

They reached the rest of their family and everyone took turns hugging Natasha and gushing about her performances. Skye kept a tight hold on her sister's hand the whole time.

Phil was smiling at Natasha, "I recorded both of your dances so that I can send them to the twins. They love watching you dance."

Skye saw Nattie blush before saying, "I hope they'll like them."

Trip rolled his eyes and playfully pushed Natasha before saying, "Why wouldn't they like them? Girl, you twirled around like a top. I can't believe you didn't throw up."

Nat pushed him back, "Ew, Trip."

Trip just shrugged and Skye saw May lean forward and press a kiss to Natasha's forehead, "We're so proud of you sweetie!"

Natasha hugged May again, "Thanks, mom."

Phil clapped his hands together before pulling out his camera again and pointing it at her, Trip, and Natasha, "Okay you three, it's picture time!"

Nattie groaned but obliged. Skye stood between Trip and Natasha and they all smiled while Phil took a picture. He inspected it and nodded before saying, "Let's go out to eat to celebrate. Nat, you get to choose where we go."

Natasha thought about it for a second before saying, "How about Italian?"

Everyone nodded and Phil started herding them back towards the car. Natasha swung their hands as they walked and said, "I forgot to tell you earlier, but cute shoes Skye."

Skye smiled up at her, "Thanks!"

Natasha, Trip, and Skye all sat in the back and everyone kept complimenting Natasha on her dancing skills until she begged them to stop.

When they reached the restaurant, Natasha unbuckled Skye and she hopped out of the car. She grabbed onto Phil's hand and followed everyone inside. They sat at a table by the windows and Skye looked around. The restaurant was nice and it had pretty music playing softly in the background. She sat by May and Natasha. May ordered a water for her since she didn't like talking to strangers.

Once their drinks were ordered, Skye turned to Natasha, "Nattie, how do you dance like that? I wish I could dance like you."

Natasha grinned at her, "Maybe you can Skye. Why don't you sign up for some dance classes?"

Skye balked at that. She didn't know if she could dance in front of a bunch of people like Natasha had. She didn't even know if she _could_ dance.

She shook her head but May said, "It wouldn't hurt to try Skye. You might like it."

Skye shook her head again, "How about you come with me when I pick Nat up from dance class and you can watch for a little bit. That might change your mind, and if not, that's okay."

Skye thought about it. She wouldn't mind watching Nattie dance again and Skye knew that May wouldn't force her to dance if she didn't want to, so she nodded. Natasha smiled brightly at her.

The waitress brought their drinks out and took their food orders. May ordered for Skye again and she got spaghetti.

They were all talking about school and Trip was telling them about how Hunter had tried to skip class but had gotten caught when Skye reached to get a sip of water. She picked up her glass, but it slipped from her grasp and spilled. The glass didn't break, but water started flowing off the side of the table and some got on the people at the table next to them.

She heard a man gasp and scoot his chair back before saying, "What the hell? Who did that?"

She looked over to the man and he looked really angry, so she shrunk back in her chair and put her hands over her face, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to."

Her hands were blocking her face, so she didn't see the guys face, but she heard him say, "Oh. Hey kid, it's alright."

She barely heard him. All she could think about was the time that she had broken that glass at the Ramsey's and Mr. Ramsey had yelled and thrown things at her. She started breathing really quickly and she heard the guy ask if she was alright. Phil said something back to him, but she couldn't hear what it was over the sound of blood rushing in her ears.

Suddenly, May's voice was whispering in her ear, "Skye, it's okay. No one's mad at you and you're safe here. It was just an accident, okay?"

Skye listened to what May was saying and moved her hands away from her face. She looked over and saw that May's face was really close to hers. She was still breathing pretty quickly but she told herself that she was safe with May and Phil and that helped to calm her down. She felt Natasha intertwine their pinkies and May lean in to kiss her forehead. Skye took a deep breath and finally regained control of her breathing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock it over."

May brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "I know sweetie, it's okay."

She glanced around and saw that the man had sat back down and Trip and Phil were dutifully cleaning up the water while shooting her concerned glances. Natasha was also looking at her worriedly and squeezed her pinky in comfort. Skye looked back to May and said uncertainly, "Will you say it?"

May looked confused for a second before she caught on. She leaned in a little closer, so that their faces were almost touching, and whispered, "I love you to the moon and back-"

Skye let out a breath and finished, "More than all the stars in the sky."

May smiled at her and she tentatively smiled back. May still loved her even though she had spilled her drink all over the table and all over that man. No one was mad at her but Skye still felt a little embarrassed.

May caressed her cheek and said, "It was just an accident, you're okay. Let's get you another drink though."

They both sat back up and Skye saw that their waitress was already walking towards their table with another glass of water in her hand. She set it down on the table in front of her and said, "We get spills all the time, it's no problem."

Skye nodded gratefully at her but didn't reach for the glass.

Natasha kept their pinkies interlocked and May kept shooting her worried glances, but the conversation picked back up again. Skye could feel the tension in her muscles slowly releasing. As time went on, she stopped staring down at her hands and participated in the conversation being held at the table.

The waitress brought out their food and Skye made sure to put her napkin in her lap so that she wouldn't get any food on her pretty dress. She mostly succeeded and laughed with everyone else when a big glob of Trip's chicken alfredo fell on his lap.

Skye finished eating and pushed her plate away from her. She sat back and watched her family eat their food. She gripped the moon pendant hanging from around her neck and wished that Wanda and Pietro were here so that they could play with her and she so that she could thank them for the necklace.

Natasha's eyes were drawn to the motion and she looked over, "What's that Skye?"

She released the pendant and moved her hand away so that Natasha could see it, "It's from Wanda and Pietro. They said that you helped them in their note."

Natasha admired it but shook her head a little, "I just told them what you liked, they picked this out on their own. It's so pretty Skye!"

Knowing that Natasha had played a smaller role in her present than she thought, just reinforced her desire to thank the twins for their gift. "I want to thank them. Can you help me write a card?"

Natasha smiled at her, "Sure. We can write it tonight and send it tomorrow. That's a really thoughtful idea Skye!"

Skye grinned back at her. For the rest of dinner she tried to think of what she wanted to write in her card. She knew that she wanted to thank them, but she also wanted them to know how happy she was that they were okay with her being in their family.

She thought about it as everyone finished eating, as they drove back home, and as they walked through the front door.

The moment they got home she grabbed Natasha's hand and tugged her upstairs towards the playroom hearing May say, "Skye! You've only got about thirty minutes before you need to shower and go to bed okay?"

"Okay!"

She pulled Natasha into the playroom and the older girl grabbed some construction paper while Skye grabbed some stickers, crayons, markers, and colored pencils. She had decided that she wanted to draw them a picture too.

They sat down side by side at the desk. Skye grabbed a pink piece of paper and a dark blue crayon. Natasha turned on the lamp and then looked over to her, "Okay Skye, what do you want to write?"

Skye told her and the older girl helped her spell out the harder words and supervised. She finished her letter and pulled over a different sheet of construction paper. This one was just a plain white one, but that was okay because she was going to draw all over it. "Hey Skye, is it okay if I write a letter too and send it with yours?"

Skye was focused on her drawing but said, "Of course Nattie!"

She heard the girl chuckle and went back to focusing on her picture.

She finally finished and looked over to see that Natasha was still writing her letter. She sat patiently and waited for her to finish. She grabbed her letter and read it over again to make sure that it was perfect.

"Dear Wanda and Pietro,

Thank you for my necklace. I love it a lot and never want to take it off. I'm happy that you're okay with me being in your family. I wish that you were here with us so that we could go to the playground and play on the swings.

Love,

Skye."

She nodded when she finished reading it. None of the words were spelled wrong because Natasha had helped her out and she had written slowly so that her letters were neat. She thought that it was a pretty good card.

She looked over to her picture and studied it. She had drawn a sun and some clouds and some green grass. On the grass was her family. She drew May and Phil smiling with her in between them holding their hands. She drew in her moon necklace and her new black boots. To the left of May was Natasha, wearing her costume from the last dance in her recital. It was pretty hard to draw, but Skye thought she did a good job. Next to Natasha was Trip. He was waving and had a big smile on his face. To the left of him she drew Wanda and Pietro. She had drawn in Wanda's black dress and red jacket that she was wearing in the picture that now resided on her bedside table. Pietro had on a dark grey shirt and blue shorts. It had been hard to find a color that matched his hair, but she thought that she did a pretty good job. Everyone was smiling and they looked like a happy family.

Skye smiled back at the figures on her paper. She had a family now, and it was bigger and better than she had ever imagined it could be.

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I would love to hear what you guys thought about this chapter! Reading reviews is my favorite thing to do :) xx -Ariel


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! I've been helping my mom with her elementary school class and that just reinforces my respect for teachers because children are _terrible_ and mean. Some are actually really nice, but I get a headache after two hours with 24 of them. So, shout out to Ms. Hill, even though she's a fictional character and isn't even a teacher in the MCU.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) xx**

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The next day, Skye thought about Natasha's dance recital during class. She thought about how May and Nattie said that she could go to classes and learn how to dance like Natasha did. She really wanted to, but she didn't think she could do it. She didn't want to look stupid and clumsy in front of everyone.

It was at the end of the day and Ms. Hill was letting them play for the last few minutes of class because they had been good all day. Skye was telling her friends about the recital. They were all sitting in a semicircle around her and she was waving her hands around excitedly, "And Nattie was spinning so fast! She was blurry, I swear!"

Fitz, Jemma, and Lincoln were listening and giving Skye their full attention.

Jemma spoke up, "Is your sister a real ballerina?"

Skye nodded and said proudly, "Yes, she is."

Jemma made an awed sound and said, "I wish I could be a ballerina! They're so pretty and graceful."

Skye nodded, "You could take dance classes and become one. My mommy said that I could take them and I want to dance just like Nattie does. You should take some too!"

Jemma thought about it, "I'm going to ask my mommy."

Skye smiled at her friend and heard Lincoln speak up, "How long does it take to become a ballerina?"

Fitz said, "It must take a super long time. They can walk on their tip toes. Can you walk on your tip toes?"

Skye shook her head and all of them stood up and tried to walk around on their toes. They kept stumbling and Jemma was hanging onto Fitz, who kept grumbling because she was making him fall over. They had to stop when Ms. Hill told the class that it was time to go home. Jemma, Fitz, and Skye all said goodbye to Lincoln before he got onto his bus and then they made their way to the front of the school.

Skye turned to them, "You guys should come over to my house and play this weekend. We have a really awesome playroom with a bunch of toys and my mom says that my friends can come over whenever I want."

Her friends both nodded and Jemma said, "I'll ask my mommy!" before they both ran off to find their parents.

Skye stood by Ms. Hill and looked around for May. She didn't see her. Usually she was here by now and would be waiting by their tree. She tugged on Ms. Hill's hand, "Do you know where my mom is?"

She saw Ms. Hill look around and say, "No, but she might just be running a little later than usual. If she's not here in a little while, I'll call her, okay?"

Skye nodded and kept an eye out for May. She watched as parents greeted their children. She spotted Jemma and Fitz getting into Jemma's mom's car. She hoped that they could come over and play with her this weekend. They had never been over to her house and she wanted to show them her room.

She kept scanning the area and started to feel like someone was watching her. She swung her head around but didn't see anyone. All she saw was mommies and daddies hugging their kids and leading them to their cars. She glanced at Ms. Hill and saw that her teacher was quietly talking to another first grade teacher. She uneasily looked back to the front of the school but couldn't see anyone staring at her. She tried to shake off the feeling but couldn't.

Just then, she saw May pull up and hop out of her car. She saw her look around, spotting her before the older woman started quickly walking her way. Skye started making her way to May and they met in the middle, "Skye, I'm so sorry I'm late. There was an accident on one of the roads and traffic was terrible. I'm so sorry sweetie."

Skye took her pinky and they made their way to the car, "It's okay. Is it alright if Fitz and Jemma come over and play this weekend?"

She climbed into the backseat and May answered her as she buckled Skye in, "Sure sweetie. I'll call their parents later and see if it's alright with them."

Skye smiled and watched as May got into the driver's seat and turned on some Disney songs. She pulled out of the parking lot and said, "So, I was thinking… how about we go to Toys R' Us before we pick up Nat from dance class?"

Skye scrunched her face up and looked at May's face in the rearview mirror, "What's that?"

She saw May look back at her. Surprise colored her face, "Toys R' Us?" Skye nodded and May continued, "It's a giant toy store sweetie. You've never been there?"

Skye shook her head. Now that she did knew that it existed, she kind of wanted to go there. She liked toys.

"Well now we _have_ to go. We have about an hour or two before we have to pick up Nat. Let's go have some fun!"

Skye smiled but she didn't know if she wanted to make May buy her a bunch of toys. Buying her clothes was different because she _needed_ clothes. She didn't need toys. She had Alice and her crayons and Tangled. She didn't need anything else.

She sang along to the songs from The Jungle Book until May pulled into a parking lot. Skye glanced up at the building and sucked in a breath. It was _huge_. The building was giant and it had 'Toys R' Us' written in multicolored letters on the front of it. She saw a little boy walking with his dad out of the store. The dad was holding a really big bag in his hands and the little boy was talking animatedly.

Seeing the little boy sparked something in Skye, "When can I go see Ward?"

May parked the car, unbuckled her seat belt and turned around in her seat, "I can call his foster parents today and see when a good time for them will be. Does that sound okay?"

Skye nodded. She had been a little excited about seeing the toy store, but now she just felt guilty. Ward could be in a really bad foster home or he could be super mad at her right now and she was about to go look at a bunch of toys with May. She berated herself for forgetting about Ward so easily. She wasn't a very good friend.

May must've seen how upset she was getting because she reached back and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "Why don't I call them right now? Would that be better?"

Skye nodded again and saw May turn back around in her seat and pull out her phone. She pressed some buttons and put it against her ear. It took a couple of seconds before she said anything, "Hello!...It's Melinda, how've you been?...That's great. Is everyone adjusting?...That's wonderful to hear." May glanced back at her before saying, "So, my little one would like to come over and see Grant, is that okay?... Yeah, she was the one…. Great! When's a good time for you?...That sounds fine. Have a great day…Bye."

She hung up and looked back to Skye, "Both Grant and his brother are doing fine sweetie. We can go over and see them on Wednesday. How does that sound?"

Skye let out a breath. She was relieved to hear that Ward was okay, but she still needed to know if he was mad at her. She hoped that he wasn't, but if he was, it would be better to know. She nodded at May and the older woman shut off the car and helped Skye out of her seat.

As they were walking to the entrance of the store, Skye interlocked their pinkies and May said, "Now listen up sweetie, I know how you feel about us buying you things and I just want you to know that Phil and I want to buy you some toys, okay?"

Skye looked up at her and studied her face. She had to squint a little because the sun was really bright but she saw that May looked earnest. She nodded and May smiled at her, "Good. Let's go see what they've got."

Skye's jaw dropped when they entered the store. There were toys e _verywhere_. She blindly followed May over to where all the carts were and lifted her arms so that May would know that she wanted to be put in the cart. This store was _huge_ and even though she wanted to run around and see all the toys, she didn't want to get lost in here. It would take May forever to find her!

May set her in the front seat of the cart and started walking deeper into the store, "How about we look at the dolls first?"

Skye nodded and stared at all the toys that they passed. She didn't even know that most of these things existed!

May turned down an aisle and Skye thought she was in heaven. On one side, the shelves were filled with stuffed animals. Every single animal that Skye had ever heard of was on a shelf, and even some she'd never heard of. She looked them over and gasped. Sitting on the middle of the shelf was Maximus! The horse from Tangled! She reached her hands up, "Can I get out?"

May lifted her out of the cart and she ran over to the plush toy. She gently took him off of the shelf and held him in front of her face. The horse had a fluffy mane and was smiling at her. He even had his brown saddle from the movie! Skye hugged him to her chest and looked to the other side of the aisle. That side was filled with baby dolls rather than stuffed animals.

There were barbies and dolls that talked and needed to be taken care of. There were mermaid dolls and character dolls that she saw on TV. Skye moved down the aisle and spotted the princess dolls. She jumped excitedly as she saw Belle, then Ariel and Eric, then Cinderella. She searched for Rapunzel and finally saw her on the top shelf. She tried to reach for it but she was too short, "Mommy! There's Rapunzel!"

May chuckled and grabbed it for her. She handed her the boxed doll and Skye stared at it. The Rapunzel doll had long, blonde hair and was wearing a pink and purple dress. It came with a brush and some flower clips that you could pin into her hair. Skye hugged the doll to her chest too.

She wandered over into the next aisle, making sure that May was following her, and kept looking at all the toys. She stopped and grabbed the Prettiest Princess Castle Play-Doh set and tried to tuck it under her arm but she was carrying too many things.

She looked sadly at the play-doh set before gently placing it back on the shelf. She heard May speak up from behind her, "What're you doing Skye? Don't you want that?"

Skye turned around and held up her stuffed horse and her Rapunzel doll, "I'm just going to get these two, is that okay?"

May walked over and plucked the play-doh set off the shelf and placed it into the cart. "You can get this too Skye."

Skye shook her head and tried to reach into the cart to grab the toy, but May gently brushed her hands to the side, "Remember what I said? We want to get you toys that you like. It makes us happy to buy you things that you want. Now, what else would you like?"

Skye looked at her uncertainly, but May just gently prodded her forward and they kept walking down the aisles. Even though Skye had heard what May said, she didn't want her to have to buy her things that she didn't need, so she tried not to pick anything else up. May must have caught on though, because every time Skye would stare at a toy for longer than five seconds, May would grab it and put it into their cart, not bothering to even acknowledge Skye's protests.

The walked through most of the toy aisles and had made it to the books. May and Phil had a lot of books that they read to her before bedtime, but Skye missed being read Goodnight Moon. No one had read it to her since the Harvey's died and it was still her favorite story.

She looked for the familiar green and blue cover and found it easily enough. She grabbed onto the book and stared at it. Would it be bad to have May and Phil read it to her, even though it was the book that that Harvey's had diligently read to her every night? It kind of felt like she was betraying them. That had been _their_ thing. Skye didn't know if they would like another family reading it to her.

She stared at the cover and felt May walk up next to her, "Do you want that book?"

Skye didn't look up at her, just continued to stare at the book, "Mr. and Mrs. Harvey read this to me all the time before they died. It's my favorite."

May put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Why don't we get it and Phil and I can read it to you?"

Skye wasn't sure, "Do you think that they would mind if you read it to me? This was _their_ book." Skye didn't know if she was explaining it right, but May seemed to catch onto what she was saying.

She crouched down and brushed Skye's hair out of her eyes, "I think that they would want you to be happy Skye. Does this book make you happy?"

Skye didn't even have to think about it. She nodded and clutched the book tighter between her fingers.

May smiled at her, "Then I don't think they would mind if I read it to you."

What May was saying made sense and she hoped that she was right. She gently handed May the book and the older woman placed it into the cart.

"Why don't you choose a couple more books and then we'll go get Natasha from dance class?"

Skye nodded and looked carefully at the books before choosing Stella Luna, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and placing them in the cart.

She intertwined her pinky with May's and they both walked up to the registers to check out. The employee put all of their things into bags and May placed them in the cart. Skye tried to grab the stuffed Maximus out of the bag, but she was too short. May looked over and saw what she was trying to do before grabbing the stuffed horse, pulling the tags off, and handing it to her.

Skye suddenly felt the need to tell May how grateful she was. She wrapped her arms around May's waist and pressed her face into the older woman's tummy, "Thanks mommy."

She felt May wrap her arms around her back, "You're welcome Skye. Let's go get Nat."

Skye hugged the horse close and nodded. She followed May back out to the car and climbed into the back seat. May put the bags away and buckled Skye in before starting the car and leaving the parking lot. Skye played with Maximus and sang along to the Aladdin songs as they drove to Natasha's dance studio.

She followed May into the dance studio and saw that it was mostly empty. Most of the dancers were probably still practicing. May led her to the last room. They both walked in and went to the viewing room. Natasha and about six other girls were doing ballet exercises. One of their hands was placed on a wooden bar and they were going through different poses.

Skye watched in fascination until their instructor said that class was over and everyone started gathering their things. The parents went out to meet their kids. May and Skye went into the studio room and walked over to Natasha.

She was putting on sweatpants and a short sleeve shirt over her leotard. She smiled at them, "Hey guys."

Skye ran over to her, "Hey Nattie. You looked really pretty doing your dancey moves."

Natasha chuckled and ruffled her hair before slinging her bag over her shoulder, "Thanks Skye. Have you thought anymore about signing up for some classes?"

Skye _had_ been thinking about it. She wanted to be able to do what Natasha did. "I don't think I can do what you were doing."

Natasha laughed and reached down to intertwine their pinkies, "You don't have to do what I was doing right away. That's for later on, when you've practiced for a little while. You'll start off learning easier things."

Skye considered that as they all climbed into the car and May drove off. Now that she knew that she wouldn't have to start off learning all the hard leaps and kicks that Natasha could do, the whole dance thing sounded much more appealing. She looked back to Natasha, "If I do it, will you be there?"

"I could ask your instructor, but I don't think they'll mind if I help out. I help teach some of the younger students anyways."

"Okay. I think I want to try it."

Natasha smiled real big at her and she heard May say, "That's great baby. We'll come in on Monday and sign you up."

Skye couldn't help but grin. She was excited about this. She couldn't remember the last time she had been excited to try something new.

Natasha looked over to her, "You're going to love it Skye. Dancing is so much fun."

Skye hugged Maximus to her chest and grinned back at her sister, "I believe you Nattie."

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What'd you think? I actually just brought my nephew to a Toys R' Us and he had never been there before, so that kind of inspired this chapter.

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and I hope you like it!**

 **Thanks for reading :) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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Skye jerked awake the next morning. She couldn't remember exactly what her nightmare had been about, she just remembered that there had been big monsters and red eyes that watched her from behind dark objects. She tried to steady her breathing and wiped the light layer of sweat off of her forehead. She went to roll over and try to fall back asleep when she froze.

No, no, no. She thought that she had stopped wetting the bed! She hadn't done it since the beginning of her stay with May and Phil and she had barely had any nightmares since the first week. She felt safe here. She thought that all of that bad stuff was behind her now, but apparently she was wrong.

She threw back her sheets and slid out of her bed. She went to start pulling her sheets off when she remembered what May had told her. She had said that if she ever wet the bed again, that she should go tell her or Phil and they could help her. She didn't want to tell them. She was embarrassed and she didn't want them to know that she did something that babies did.

She knew that she couldn't hide her whole bedspread and her wet pajamas in a place where they wouldn't find them, so she resigned herself to the fact that they would find out what happened eventually. She walked out of her bedroom and heard Phil's voice coming from downstairs. She stood in her doorway, tears welling up in her eyes. Why couldn't she do anything right? She wasn't a baby anymore, she shouldn't be wetting the bed, but she was. The tears spilled over her cheeks and she silently cried as she made her way through the hall and down the stairs.

She felt uncomfortable in her wet footie pajamas but she slowly made her way into the kitchen, grasping her moon pendant the whole time. Phil's back was facing her and he was singing while washing some dishes. She just stood there, tears making their way down her cheeks, waiting for him to turn around and see her. She knew that he wouldn't yell at her or make her feel bad, Phil wasn't bad like that, he was good. She was still embarrassed and upset with herself anyways.

Phil was still humming to himself as he turned around with a dish towel in his hand and spotted her, "Oh! Skye! You scared me sweetie. Why didn't you-" Phil didn't finish his question and Skye couldn't make herself look at him to see what his expression was like.

She saw his feet get closer and heard him say, "Did you have an accident?"

Hearing Phil say that made her tears start to fall faster. Skye knew that he wasn't mad at her, but she was mad at herself. She kept her eyes averted and sharply nodded. She couldn't believe that this was happening.

Phil's hand came into view and his voice was soft, "It's okay. Come on sweetie."

Skye studied his hand for a couple of seconds before taking it and letting him lead her back to her room. It was already morning, so Phil grabbed her some clothes for the day and led her into the bathroom. He put her clothes onto the counter and turned the shower on before saying, "I'm going to go get your sheets. Leave your dirty clothes on the floor and I'll grab them and throw everything in the washing machine, okay?"

Skye didn't say anything but he didn't seem to mind. She watched as he walked back down the hallway and forced herself to stop crying. Babies cried and she was six. She bet Jemma didn't wet the bed or cry all the time. She forcibly rubbed at her eyes before taking off her soggy clothes and stepping into the shower.

She was rinsing the soap off of her body when she heard Phil walk back into the bathroom. "Skye, if you don't want me in here I can wait outside, but I just want to make sure you're okay in there."

Phil's kindness made her want to start crying again but she forced herself not to. She swallowed thickly before saying, "You can stay."

She heard Phil shuffle around before he said, "I can play some Tangled music if you want?"

Skye didn't even have a chance to respond before she heard soft music coming from behind the shower curtains. The music stayed fairly quiet because the rest of the house was still sleeping, but Skye was grateful for it nonetheless. She hummed along to the songs and tried to forget about what happened as she finished her shower.

She'd watched May turn the shower off plenty of times, so she turned off the water and wondered what she was supposed to do. Before she could ask, she saw Phil's hand poke through the shower curtain holding a towel. She kept the curtains closed and dried off before handing the towel back to him. He took the towel from her hand and replaced it with her clothes. She pulled them on, noticing that the shirt Phil chose was the pink one with blue hearts that Natasha had chosen for her when they went shopping, and stepped out of the shower.

Phil greeted her with a smile and motioned for her to turn around. She obliged and felt him run a comb through her damp hair. He finished and set the comb onto the counter before holding out his hand. Skye grabbed it and he led her to the playroom. The Toys R' Us bags were in there because Skye had been too busy playing with Rapunzel and Maximus yesterday to have even touched her other toys.

Phil went to the desk and turned on some Disney music before shutting the door so that it wouldn't wake anyone else. He sat down on the floor and said, "Will you show me your new toys? May said that you got some fun things yesterday."

Skye stared at him for a second before sitting down next to him and pulling her play-doh set out of the bag. Phil made an impressed sound and looked at her, "Why don't we open this bad boy up?"

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When May woke up, she wasn't surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. Phil had always woken up ridiculously early and before, he would just stay in bed and read a book until she woke up, but now that he knew that Skye was also an early riser, he had dubbed the early morning as "Skye time." She didn't mind. Once she woke up, there was no way that she could fall back asleep and she loved that Skye and Phil had a special time just for them.

May stretched and got out of bed. She didn't bother to get dressed because it was a Saturday and her family liked to be lazy on the weekends. She was making her way down the hallway when she heard giggling and soft music coming from the playroom. As she walked closer to the room, she heard a song from Tangled coming from behind the closed door. She loved Skye more than life itself, but she never thought she would end up knowing every word to every. single. Disney. song.

She opened the door and blinked at the scene in front of her.

Toys were all over the floor and music was playing from the computer on the desk, which was normal in this house. What was _not_ a normal occurrence was Phil wearing a tiara, sipping imaginary tea out of a Beauty and the Beast teacup that came from a set that she had bought Skye yesterday, and pretending to eat what looked like cookies made out of play-doh. Skye was wearing the little Captain America costume that May hadn't been able to resist buying her from Toys R' Us and had a Rapunzel tiara on her head. Alice and her other doll friends were sitting in a semi circle with teacups in front of them and it appeared that she had walked in on a tea party.

Skye and Phil turned to look at her when they heard the door open. Skye grinned at her and Phil gave her a sheepish look. She raised her eyebrows.

Skye stayed seated and held up a teacup that May assumed was supposed to be filled with tea.

May accepted the silent invitation and sat down next to Phil before taking the offered cup from Skye. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

She sipped her imaginary tea in comfortable silence before Phil said, "Skye, where's your Rapunzel doll?"

The little girl's eyes widened before she hopped up and said, "Oh! She's in my room! I'm going to go get her real fast!" She ran out of the room, holding her tiara on her head so that it wouldn't fall off.

She gave Phil a questioning look. That was obviously a ploy to get Skye out of the room for a little bit.

He set his teacup down and turned to her, "Skye wet the bed. She seemed pretty upset about it so I wanted to take her mind off of it."

May knew that accidents were bound to happen, especially with a kid who had a past like Skye's, and even though she seemed to be making progress. Nightmares were tricky. They snuck up on you and no matter how hard you tried, you just can't control your subconscious.

May also knew that Skye was extremely self conscious and embarrassed about wetting the bed. It probably had more to do with previous foster family's reactions to it and her inability to control her body and less to do with how she thought that she and Phil would react. At least, she hoped that that was the case.

She leaned her head against Phil's shoulder, "Poor baby. We should tell Jiaying about this."

Phil nodded, "She helped Nat with her nightmares, she'll be able to help Skye too."

May nodded. She was extremely confident in Jiaying's ability to help her children, she just hoped that Skye would be open to accepting help. She had been on her own for so long that it might be difficult for her, but the little girl had a knack for surprising her. She had opened up to her and Phil and she had embraced them as her family and May had thought that that would have taken _months_.

She was still leaning against Phil when Skye came barreling back into the room.

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Skye clutched her Rapunzel doll in her fist as she ran back into the playroom, "Daddy! I got her! You can brush her hair if you want!"

Phil gently took the doll and tiny brush from her and said, "I would love to Skye,"

Skye sat back down, "Maybe you could learn how to braid with her hair, then you could do mine."

She saw him start to brush the dolls hair and smirk, "You didn't like my pigtails?"

Her eyes widened. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, "I liked them a lot! I just like braids too."

Phil laughed, "I was just kidding Skye. I will _happily_ learn how to braid hair for you."

Skye smiled at that. May looked over at her, "Can I have a doll?"

Skye studied the dolls sitting in a semicircle around her. She carefully picked up Perrie and said, "Here, you can play with Perrie. She likes Nattie, but I think she'll like you too."

May took the doll and thanked her. They played tea party for a little longer before Skye told them that they were out of tea. Her parents nodded seriously and suggested that they go downstairs and eat breakfast. She was getting hungry so she agreed and sat on the counter while they played music and made scrambled eggs and waffles.

Soon enough, Nattie made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She paused when she saw Skye and smiled a little. "I didn't know that Captain America was a princess Skye." Skye looked down at her Captain America costume and reached up and touched the tiara resting on her head.

Nattie pulled herself onto the counter and sat down next to her. She shrugged, "He can be a princess if he wants to."

Natasha's lips tugged up and into a wider smile, "That's true."

May's cell phone rang and she moved out of the kitchen to answer it. Skye glanced at her before looking back to Natasha, "What're you doing today Nattie?"

Her sister shrugged and stole some scrambled eggs from the plate that May had abandoned, "Wasn't planning on anything. I kind of just wanted to hang out and be lazy."

Skye liked being lazy. Maybe she could convince Natasha to watch Tangled with her.

May walked back into the kitchen and smiled at her, "Good news Skye. That was Jemma's mom. She talked to Leo's mom and said that they could both come over and play today. They'll be over after lunch."

Skye clapped her hands, "Yes! I want to show them my room. Nattie, will you play with us?"

Nat hopped off the counter and grabbed the plate full of scrambled eggs. She leaned forward and poked Skye in the tummy before saying, "Sure Skye, I wanna meet your friends."

Skye giggled and watched Natasha walk into the dining room, set down the plate of eggs, and sit down at the table. May followed her and carried in some empty plates and silverware.

Phil glanced over to her and gestured to the plate full of waffles, "You think you could carry these to the table?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "Captain America can do anything daddy."

Phil walked over to her, "Oh really?"

She nodded. How did he not know that already?

He gave her a playful look, "Can he fly?"

Skye didn't think that he could fly, but she wasn't about to tell him that, "He could if he wanted to!"

Phil quickly grabbed her and lifted her so that she was held out in front of him and horizontal to the floor so it looked like she was flying like Superman. She squealed and stuck her arms out in front of her like she saw superheroes do when they flew around and saved people's lives.

He walked her around the kitchen, moving her so that she would dip down and then soar back up. She giggled and he walked over to the counter where the plate of waffles was sitting and she picked it up and held it in front of her as Phil flew her into the dining room. He gently set her down on one of the chairs and she put the plate onto the table before sitting down.

Everyone started grabbing food and Skye looked around, "Is Trip awake yet?"

May grabbed a waffle and looked over to her, "He won't wake up for a little while sweetie. That boy likes his sleep."

Skye nodded and ate with her family. After that she and Natasha went back upstairs and she showed her sister all her cool new toys. She took off her Captain America costume and had Nattie braid her hair for her. They played for an hour or two before moving back downstairs to watch t.v. Natasha had turned on Nickelodeon and she had gotten really excited when a show called Full House came on. Skye had never seen it before, but it was funny so she happily watched it with her sister. They ate lunch and went back to watching the show. Skye was only half-listening to what was going on because she was so excited for Jemma and Fitz to come over.

When the doorbell finally rang, it took all of her willpower not to jump up and answer it herself. Phil told her than she wasn't supposed to answer the door on her own because it could be a stranger, and she's not supposed to talk to strangers. She watched May make her way from the dining room to the door and she followed her closely.

May opened the door and started talking to Jemma's mom and Skye motioned Jemma and Fitz inside. They scooted past the grownups and looked around.

Skye smiled at them, "Hi!"

Jemma kept looking around but smiled back, "Hi Skye! Your house is big."

Fitz nodded along, "Yeah, it's pretty big. I like it."

Skye grinned and grabbed their hands before leading them into the living room. They kept glancing at the pictures on the walls so they didn't really see Natasha sitting on the corner of the couch, "Hey guys. You're Skye's friends?"

Fitz jumped and Jemma whipped her head around to look at the older girl. Nattie smirked at them.

Fitz recovered first and but still had a hand pressed to his chest, "Yeah. I'm Fitz, that's Simmons."

Skye interrupted, "Her real name's Jemma though, and that's Leo."

Jemma nodded and Nattie waved at them. Skye pointed to her and said, "That's my big sister Natasha, she's the ballerina!"

Skye saw recognition flash through their faces before the both of them moved closer to the couch. Skye followed them and stood so that she was leaning against Nattie's legs.

Fitz gave Natasha a disbelieving look, "Are you really a ballerina? Skye said you can spin really fast. Can you walk on your tippy toes? Does that hurt? We tried to do it and it hurt. Do all ballerinas have to wear tutus? Do _guy_ ballerinas have to wear tutus?-"

Jemma interrupted, "How long does it take to become a ballerina? Do you have to go to ballet school? Do you want to be a ballerina forever? Can we see you dance?"

Natasha blinked at them and looked over to Skye. She just shrugged. Her friends liked to ask questions.

Nattie looked between her two friends, "Uh, I do ballet, so I guess that you could call me a ballerina. I _can_ walk on my tip toes and it hurts sometimes if you don't do it right. Ballerinas don't wear tutus all the time and it takes a little while to understand all of the ballet moves and poses before you're good at it."

Jemma and Fitz were nodding along with what Nattie was saying and they were totally transfixed on her. Skye smiled. She was happy that her friends liked her sister.

Jemma pointed at her, "Can we see you dance?"

Fitz started jumping up and down, "Yeah, can we see you dance?"

Nattie looked around uncertainly, "Um, I don't think-"

Skye interrupted her, "Pleeeeeeeease Nattie?" She made her eyes go wide and pouted her lips.

Natasha looked at her and sighed, "Okay, but just a little bit."

All three of them smiled triumphantly and sat down next to each other on the couch. Natasha stood up and pushed the coffee table back a little bit. She performed some of her ballet dance from the dance recital. She did some fluid turns and kicks and jumped a little bit before stopping and rubbing her neck nervously, "It's kind of hard to dance in here. It's better at the studio."

Jemma raised her hands and started waving them around, "No! That was awesome!"

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, totally awesome!"

Skye agreed. "You're the best Nattie."

Her friends turned to her, "Can we see your room?"

"Yeah! It's upstairs." She pulled them off the couch and ran upstairs to her room, Fitz and Jemma on her heels.

She walked into her room and stood by the doorway while they explored. Fitz was looking at her pink lamp and Jemma was peering into her dollhouse. Skye fidgeted a little. She hoped that they liked it.

Jemma sat down next to the dollhouse and Skye went to sit by her, "I like your dollhouse."

Skye picked up Alice and Fitz sat down on the other side of Jemma, "Thanks. My mommy and daddy got it for me before I came to live with them."

Fitz gave her a questioning look, "I thought you said that they weren't your mommy and daddy. You said they were just your foster parents."

Skye ran her fingers through Alice's hair, "Yeah... they aren't the mommy and daddy who had me when I was a baby, but they're the ones who love me. That's what _real_ parents do, right?"

Jemma nodded, "Yeah! I _told_ you that they were your mom and dad."

Skye grinned and put Alice back into her little house, "You did. Let's go to the playroom! I have like five billion different colored crayons!"

* * *

What'd you think? Poor lil Skye. Nightmares suck so hard.

The next few chapters might had more mistakes than usual because my kickass beta has her finals week and won't be able to read through them. Good luck to everyone who is dealing with their exams!

Thank you so much for reading and an extra thank you to those of you who leave a review! You guys are the bees knees. xx -Ariel


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! I went and saw San Andreas today and I'm now _more_ terrified of natural disasters than I was before. Have any of you seen it yet? **

**Hope you guys like it, it's got some more Fitzsimmons and Mommy May and Daddy Phil in it. As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye played with Jemma and Fitz until it was time for them to leave. They had fun with her new toys and at some point, Natasha and Trip joined them in the playroom. After her friends left, they had all eaten dinner together before Trip announced that he felt like they should have a family game night. That's why they were all currently on the living room floor, sitting around the coffee table with the Chutes and Ladders board game in front of them.

Skye had never played it before, so Natasha had said that they could be on a team together. They both laughed as Phil moved his pawn and had to go down a chute, forcing him into last place.

He groaned, "Why do I always have to go down the longest chute?"

"Because you keep getting the wrong numbers when you spin the dial daddy," Skye supplied helpfully.

Trip and Natasha started laughing and Skye looked around and tried to figure out what was so funny. Phil grinned at her, "Thanks Skye. I'll try to stop doing that."

She nodded, "Good, then you might not lose."

They both laughed again and she saw May's lips twitch up and into a small smile. She watched as her mom spun the dial and moved her pawn forward, landing on a ladder and climbing her way up the board. May threw a smirk in Phil's direction.

Skye pointed, "See? You should be getting the numbers that mommy does."

Trip hid a smile behind his hand and Phil said, "Maybe your mom is just better at this game than I am."

Skye considered that. Some people were better at doing things than others were, like Nattie and her dancing. She shrugged, "Maybe."

They finished the game, May won, but she and Nattie came in second. Trip ended up losing, but he didn't seem to mind. Phil was extremely excited to get third place.

Everyone stayed in the living room and hung out. Trip opened up his laptop and started typing away while May and Phil turned on a movie. Skye ran upstairs and grabbed some of her new coloring books as well as some crayons and brought them down so that she and Nattie could color together. She handed Natasha a Disney coloring book and took the Spongebob one for herself.

She started coloring in a scene of Spongebob and Patrick catching jellyfish when she heard Natasha say her name, "Hey, look Skye! This book comes with some temporary tattoos."

Skye leaned over and looked at the page Nattie was pointing to. It was glossy and had a bunch of Disney characters on it, they were all striking various poses. She scrunched up her nose, "What's that?"

Natasha gave her a startled look, "Temporary tattoos?" Skye nodded and Nattie continued talking, "You stick them onto your skin and they stay on for a couple of days. You wanna try some?"

Skye nodded and Natasha got up. Skye followed her as she went into the kitchen and wet a washcloth before grabbing a pair of scissors.

They walked back into the living room and sat down. "Which one do you want Skye?"

She studied the page. It had Simba in the middle of a dance move, Rapunzel with her frying pan, Belle smiling at her, and Mulan holding a weapon. It had a _ll_ of the Disney characters; Sebastian, Flynn Ryder, Anastasia and even some villains like Ursula and Maleficent. There were too many options, she couldn't decide.

She looked over to Natasha, "Which one do you think?"

Natasha considered it, "You could do more than one."

"Who's your favorite Nattie?"

She pointed at Cinderella and then reconsidered, "I like Anastasia."

Skye nodded. She liked that movie too. "I want that one and you can have Rapunzel because she's _my_ favorite, and then when we look at them, we'll think of each other."

Natasha leaned in and kissed her forehead and it made her think of when May did that, "That's a great idea Skye."

She smiled and watched her sister cut around Anastasia on the piece of paper and then peel off the glossy overlay. "Okay, where do you want it?"

Skye thought about it and then pointed to her upper arm by her shoulder. Nattie gently put the temporary tattoo on her arm and then placed the damp washcloth over it. "I'll just have to hold it on here for thirty seconds and then it'll be done."

Skye tried not to fidget around too much so that she wouldn't mess it up. She'd never had a temporary tattoo before. She wondered how long it would last.

Natasha took the washcloth off of her arm and then slowly peeled back the paper. "Woah! It looks just like it did on the paper!"

Natasha nodded and gently blew on her arm so that it would dry. She handed Skye the scissors and the page with the tattoos on it and Skye made sure to cut it in a way that wouldn't mess up the Rapunzel tattoo. She cut it out and looked at Nattie. Her sister pointed to her arm, "Put it where I put yours."

Skye nodded, peeled off the glossy cover, and put it on her before gently pressing the damp washcloth against her arm. She hummed a Tangled song while she waited. Once the thirty seconds was up, she took the washcloth off and hoped that she hadn't messed it up. She peeled back the paper and breathed out a sigh of relief as she looked at the tattoo. It looked just like it did when it was on the paper.

Natasha looked at it and smiled, "It looks great Skye!"

Skye looked back at the page and cut out the Mulan tattoo, and then the Prince Charming one, and then the King Triton one. She walked over to the couch and jumped onto it. She shuffled over to May and climbed on her lap. "Mommy, can I put this on you?"

May took her eyes off of the t.v., combed her fingers through Skye's hair and said, "Sure sweetie."

Skye smiled and placed the Mulan tattoo on her arm, and then did the same to Phil and Trip. She put the King Triton tattoo onto Phil's forearm instead of his shoulder, and she put the Prince Charming tattoo on Trip's ankle. Skye smiled at her handiwork and then went back to coloring with Natasha.

They stayed in the living room until it was time to go to bed. Skye changed into her pajamas and May and Phil came in to tuck her in. She got comfortable in her bed before grabbing a book off of her bedside table and holding it out to them. She stared at the familiar green and blue cover and felt May and Phil sit down on either side of her. She hoped that the Harvey's wouldn't be mad at her for wanting May and Phil to read Goodnight Moon to her.

Phil cleared his throat and opened the book, "In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of-"

Skye listened as Phil read her favorite story and fell asleep to his gentle voice and the feeling of May leaning in to kiss her forehead.

* * *

When Skye woke up on Monday morning, she grabbed her Alice and Rapunzel dolls and headed downstairs. She could tell that she had woken up a little later than she usually did because Phil was already done making breakfast. She joined him at the table and he pulled the comic section out of his newspaper and handed it to her. She dutifully looked it over and giggled at the silly images while she ate her scrambled eggs and toast.

She finished her breakfast before anyone else came down to join them and turned to Phil, "Can I bring Alice and Rapunzel to school with me? It's show-and-tell day."

Phil set his coffee mug down and smiled at her, "Sure sweetie, just be sure not to lose them."

Skye nodded seriously, "Okay, I never want to lose Alice _or_ Rapunzel. I love them."

Phil stood up, grabbed her empty plate, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and said, "I know you do sweetheart. It's getting pretty late, why don't you go wake up May and everyone else?"

Skye grinned and shot out of her seat. She ran upstairs and made her way to May and Phil's room. The quietly opened the door and peered inside. May was still sleeping. She tiptoed to her side of the bed and stared at her. She was lying on her back, one arm was thrown above her head and the other was on her chest. She was breathing softly and she looked peaceful.

Skye climbed onto the bed and straddled her stomach. She leaned in close to her face and whispered, "Mommy, it's time to wake up."

She watched as May turned her head to the side but stayed asleep. She poked her cheek, "Mommy! It's wakeup time!"

This time, she watched as her eyes opened up. They focused on her and she saw May slowly smile. When she spoke, her voice was rougher than normal, "Hey Skye. What're you doing in here?"

She straightened up and smiled, "Daddy said that it was getting late and to wake you up. Good morning!"

May looked over at her clock and made a surprised sound, "Good morning sunshine. It's not that late."

She leaned in and kissed Skye on the forehead before reaching up and tickling Skye on her tummy. She squealed and started giggling. May kept tickling her and she was wiggling around, trying to escape the onslaught. Finally, she reached down and started ticking May's stomach and the older woman raised her hands, "Okay! Truce!"

Skye grinned and scooted off of May's stomach so that she could lie down next to her. They both turned so that they were facing each other and May reached forward and brushed some hair out of her face.

Skye reached towards May's face and placed a hand on her cheek, "I love you mommy."

May put her hand over Skye's and turned her head so that she could kiss Skye's palm before saying, "I love you too Skye."

Skye grinned, "How _much_ do you love me?"

May spoke as she slowly leaned in closer, "I love you to the moon and back,-"

Skye finished for her, "More than all the stars in the sky. Forever?"

May tugged her close and Skye burrowed into her. She placed her head on May's chest and listened to her heartbeat. "Forever and ever."

Skye smiled. Good. She wanted them to love her forever and ever and ever. She sighed in content and felt May start to comb her fingers through her hair.

They laid there for a minute or two in comfortable silence before May said, "We have to get up now sweetie. You have school and I have work."

Skye grumbled but listened to her. She crawled out of the bed after May kissed her on the cheek and told her she had to get ready. She walked past Trip's room and saw that he was already awake and putting his shoes on. She glanced at Nattie's door and saw that it was open and she was listening to music as she brushed her hair.

She walked into her room and knew that she had to get ready for school. She pulled on some pink leggings and looked into her closet for a shirt. She saw an arm reach past her and grab a black and grey plaid shirt. She turned around and Nattie handed it to her. She helped her button it up before Skye grabbed her favorite shoes, the boots that May had gotten her, and tugged them on. Natasha gave her a hand with lacing them and helped her untangle her hair from her moon necklace. She wordlessly handed Nattie some hairbands and stood patiently as her sister put her hair into two braids.

She grabbed her backpack and intertwined her pinky with Natasha's before both girls walked downstairs. Trip was quickly eating some eggs and Natasha grabbed a piece of toast before shoving half of it into her mouth. Trip glanced at his phone and gave Nattie the look that meant they had to leave. She gave Natasha and Trip a hug before they ran out the door.

She sat down in her chair and picked Alice and Rapunzel up before gently placing them into her backpack. She leaned forward and whispered to her dolls, "Don't worry, I'll leave it open a little so you guys can breathe. I'll take you back out when I get to school." She zipped her backpack up three quarters of the way and watched as May walked into the room.

She kissed Phil and looked over to her, "Let's go kiddo, we're running later than usual."

Skye nodded and saw Phil hand May a travel mug full of coffee and a slice of toast. She followed them to the car and listened to Hercules songs on the way to school.

They were almost to school when Skye spoke up, "Mom?"

May turned to music down and looked back at her, "Yeah sweetie?"

"I'm going to sign up for dance class after school today, right?"

May nodded at her, "Yep, we'll go in a little earlier to get Natasha and sign you up."

"Okay. Do you think Natasha will be okay with me dancing too?"

May raised an eyebrow, "Why wouldn't she be?"

Skye twiddled her thumbs, "Because dancing is _her_ thing, not mine."

May turned around further and reached back to caress her cheek, "Natasha loves dancing and she's happy to share something she loves with s _omeone_ she loves. I promise, she won't mind Skye."

Skye took a deep breath and nodded. May had never lied to her before, so she believed her. She was still nervous to sign up for dance class, but she was happy that Nattie would be there with her.

Phil turned into the parking lot and they helped Skye out of her seat. She jumped out of the car, making sure she didn't jostle her backpack around too much so that she wouldn't disrupt her dolls, and turned to her parents.

She threw her arms around May's waist, "I love you mommy."

The older woman wrapped her arms around Skye, "I love you too sweetie. Have a great day at school."

Skye nodded and stepped out of the embrace. She turned to Phil and raised her arms. He grinned and lifted her up. He spun her around once and she squealed before wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her close and she said, "Bye daddy, I love you."

She felt him brush her hair over her shoulder and say, "I love you too Skye."

She leaned back and he shifted his arms so that she was stable, "How much?"

She knew that May loved her to the moon and back, which was _really_ far away. _And_ she loved her more than all the stars in the whole sky, which was a _lot_. She wondered how much Phil loved her.

He leaned forward so that their faces were close together, "I love you higher than the sky and more than all the water in the ocean." Skye's eyes widened. She had seen maps before and she knew that there was a whole lot of water in the ocean. He whispered, "And more than I love chocolate chip cookies."

Skye smiled. She knew that Phil loved chocolate chip cookies a lot.

She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek before squirming around so that he would put her down. He obliged and she started walking towards the school. She got halfway before turning around and she saw that they were still standing there smiling at her. She waved at them and they waved back and May blew her a kiss. She grinned and walked into the school.

* * *

Ms. Hill said that they could have show-and-tell time before recess and right now, Lincoln was showing them his rock collection. He had _huge_ collection and he let them all pass around a bunch of crystals and look at them. They looked like the stones that May had in her rings and on some of her necklaces. They were super pretty.

Before, Jemma showed them her chemistry set that her mom had bought her and when she sat back down on the reading rug, she whispered to Skye that they could play with it later. Fitz didn't bring anything to show the class, but he didn't seem to feel left out.

Skye was supposed to go after Lincoln and she was biting her lip nervously. She combed her fingers through Rapunzel's hair with one hand and gripped her moon pendant with the other. She was nervous that her class wouldn't like them.

Lincoln put his rocks away and everyone clapped before he sat down by Skye. Ms. Hill stood up and said, "Okay Skye, what'd you bring in to show us?"

Skye stood up and her legs were a little shaky. She released her moon pendant and made her way to the front of the reading rug. She swallowed thickly and held Alice and Rapunzel in front of her.

She raised up Alice, "This is Alice. My big sister, Natasha, gave her to me. My sister's a ballerina, so I think that Alice is a ballerina too. She helps me feel better when I'm sad and I love her because Nattie gave her to me."

She lowered Alice and held up Rapunzel, "This is her best friend, Rapunzel. My mommy got her for me and she's my favorite princess."

A little girl, Emma, raised her hand and Skye pointed at her. She felt kind of powerful when she did that. "My favorite princess is Rapunzel too!"

Another little girl, Gracie, raised her hand and Skye pointed at her too, "My favorite is Belle!"

That sparked a debate between everyone in the class. They all announced their favorite princesses and princes and Skye smiled as she listened. Everyone seemed to like her dolls. Ms. Hill quieted them down and thanked Skye for sharing her dolls before asking her to sit down. She took her spot next to Jemma and listened to Ms. Hill.

"Okay guys! It's recess time. I have a meeting in the office for about fifteen minutes so Mrs. Peliski will be watching you until I get back. I know you'll all be on your best behavior, so go have some fun. When we get back inside, we're going to go over our words of the week!"

She motioned towards the door and they all got up and filed out of the room. Skye stopped by Ms. Hill, "Is it okay if I bring Alice and Rapunzel outside with me? They like playing in the sand."

Ms. Hill grinned at her, "Sure Skye. Just be careful with them. I don't want you to lose them okay?"

Skye nodded and followed her class outside. She, Jemma, Fitz, and Lincoln went and played in the sand. They were building sand castles and Fitz was collecting leaves for them to use as flags.

Skye looked over to Lincoln, "I really liked your rock collection Lincoln. It's super cool."

He smiled at her, "Thanks Skye, I liked your dolls."

"Thanks. And I really liked your chemistry set Jemma."

Before she could answer, Fitz said, "Yeah, Simmons is going to become a mad scientist!"

Jemma elbowed him in the stomach, "I am not Fitz!"

Skye crossed her arms, "Yeah Fitz! She won't be a mad scientist! She'll be one that totally changes the world with her sciencey brain and smartness."

Jemma grinned at her and nodded in solidarity. Fitz raised his hands in concession, "Okay, you're right. Sorry Simmons."

"It's okay Fitz."

They went back to building their sandcastle and Skye placed Alice and Rapunzel right outside it so that they looked like they were guarding it.

Lincoln studied it, "We should build a moat."

They all agreed and started digging out a moat. Jemma turned to Skye and said, "You should come over to my house today. We can play with my chemistry set."

"I'm going to sign up for dance class today. Maybe I can after though?"

Jemma nodded, "Okay! I'll ask my-"

She was cut off by a high pitched scream. They all looked over to the monkey bars and saw Gracie sprawled out on the sand underneath it. She was crying and clutching her arm. She must have fallen off.

Teachers and other kids were running towards Gracie. Fitz and Jemma had already gotten up and ran over to the scene but before Lincoln bolted off, he looked at her, "Are you coming? I wanna see what happened."

Skye shook her head, "I don't want to be in the way. I'll just finish the moat."

Lincoln shrugged and ran over to the monkey bars. She saw a big group of people standing around Gracie and teachers were trying to control the situation.

She went back to digging out the moat. She hoped that Gracie was okay. She was probably scared and wanted her mom and dad right now. She knew that if she fell down and hurt herself, she wouldn't want everyone staring at her and she would want May and Phil to be there.

She finished the moat really fast and grabbed Alice and Rapunzel to reposition them. She glanced back to the monkey bars and saw that some of the teachers were trying to call their kids in. She stood up and tried to find Mrs. Peliski because Ms. Hill wasn't back yet. She looked around and found her and went to make her way towards the rest of her class when she felt someone grab her around the waist. Hard. She tried to scream, but then something was placed over her mouth. It smelt really bad and her vision started to go hazy. She could feel her heart pounding really hard and fast in her chest and she tried kicking her feet towards the person holding her, but she felt really weak and tired. Against her will, her eyes slid shut.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought about this chapter!

Also, thanks to MelindaSkyeMay for her idea about Skye being a little apprehensive about dance, and to hogwartswonderland for the idea about the plaid shirt! Thanks guys!

Thank you so much for reading! :) xx -Ariel


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and I hope you like it! :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Phil had been having an easy morning. That's how he knew that _something_ had to go wrong. He _never_ had easy mornings. All he'd seen in the pediatric wing of the hospital was a couple of common colds, a girl with a broken arm, and a sprained ankle from an overly enthusiastic soccer player. There was nothing serious, and although he knew that he should be happy that the children in his town were healthy, he knew that there was always _something_ that had to go wrong. That's just how it was.

He went to go check on May in the physical therapy wing. Walking in, he looked around and couldn't spot her, but he did see familiar strawberry blonde hair. He walked up to her and smiled, "Hey Pep, you seen May around?"

Pepper looked up from her chart and smiled at him. Unlike most people in this stressful hospital environment, Pepper's smiles were always genuine. He always tried to be a positive person but sometimes this place could get to him. He had _never_ seen Pepper lose her cool, and he's known her for _years_.

She put her pen behind her ear, "She's with a patient right now. Mr. Smith finally had his hip surgery a little while ago and she's running through some exercises with him."

"Oh, if she finishes before my lunch break is over, could you ask her to meet me in my office? If not, could you let her know I stopped by?"

"Sure Coulson. How's everything going at home? Your new little girl all settled in?"

He grinned at the thought of Skye. She had told him that she loved him this morning. Of course, she had said it to May and him before, but that was for _both_ of them. It felt a little different when she was saying it to just him. "She's great Pep. It was a bit of an adjustment at first, but I can't imagine her not being there."

Pepper smiled back at him. "Aw that's great Phil. You got any pictures? I love kids."

He nodded and pulled out his phone. Saturday morning, he had taught Skye the beauty of a selfie. Actually, he had no idea what that had been until the week before when he had seen Natasha making weird faces at her phone. He had asked her about it and she had patiently explained to him what the hell she was doing. Skye was still a little upset about wetting the bed, and she was so freaking adorable in her tiara and Captain America outfit, that he had handed her his phone and showed her how to work the camera.

Skye was surprisingly really good at using his phone. She fiddled with it a little bit and then took some pictures, some with normal smiles and some with silly faces, before figuring out how to download an app that allowed her to change to background to her pictures. His six-year old knew more about technology than he did.

He went to his photo album and chose a picture of Skye smiling. Her tiara was crooked on her head and you could see the top of her Captain America outfit. Her brown eyes looked happy and she was smiling so big that you could see all of her teeth.

He smiled at the picture and handed his phone to Pepper. She took it and looked at the picture, "Aww! Oh my God Phil, she is adorable!"

She handed him his phone back and he took it and put it back into his pocket. "Thanks Pep. She's going to sign up for dance class today after school. She says that she wants to dance like Natasha."

Pepper nodded, "She's getting along with Nat and Trip?"

"They adore her. I think Natasha played a big role in her feeling comfortable in our home."

"Well that's great. Let us know if you ever need a babysitter. Tony and I are thinking about maybe starting a family and we could use all the practice we can get."

Phil smiled at the thought of Tony trying to wrangle in a kid of his own. "Sure thing. She's not too keen on meeting strangers, but I think she'll love you guys."

Pepper smirked at him, "Plus, you and May would get some alone time. How long has it been since you've had a date night?"

Phil thought back. They hadn't gone on a proper date since the beginning of the last summer when Wanda and Pietro had been home. "Too long Pep."

She playfully pushed his arm, "You need to take your wife out Coulson! Show her how much you love her!"

Phil totally agreed. May did so much for him and for the family, she deserved to be treated. He gave her a sheepish look, "I know. Maybe in a week or two when Skye is more comfortable with May and I not being around her."

Pepper nodded, "Sounds good. Give me a call or something and we'll figure it out. I gotta go. I'm working with a teenage basketball player who tore her ACL. It's hard to bounce back from that, but she's determined. She's the dream patient. I'll let May know you stopped by."

"Thanks Pepper. Tell Tony I said hello."

"Will do!" He watched her walk down the hall and turned the other way and headed back to his office. He grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water from his fridge and sat down at his desk. He ate while he looked over some papers.

His lunch break was nearly over when his phone started ringing. He set the last bite of his sandwich down and answered it without looking at the screen.

"Hello?"

He heard a female voice answer him, "Am I speaking to a Phil Coulson?"

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

There was a slight pause before the woman answered him, "I'm Officer Anderson with the police department," Phil straightened up and felt dread wash through him, "It seems that Skye is missing."

Phil opened his mouth but no words came out. What? "What do you mean it _seems_ like my daughter is missing. What the hell happened? She's at school!" He stood up and started running towards the physical therapy wing. He needed to see May.

"Well sir, there was an incident during recess and the teachers were distracted and trying to assist another student who broke her arm, and when everything got sorted out, they couldn't find Skye. We're investing right now. How soon can you get to the police station?"

Phil heard what she was saying but he couldn't comprehend it. Skye was missing? Was she lost? Did she wander away from school? Why would she want to run away? She was fine this morning! His blood ran cold when he considered something else. What if she was taken?

He heard Officer Anderson speak up, "Sir? Are you still there?"

He was running down the hallway. Patients, nurses and doctors were staring at him and giving him strange looks. He could see the swinging doors to the physical therapy wing. He was breathing quickly but managed to say, "I'm here. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"I see here that you have two other children, Triplett and Natasha, I can send a squad car to their school and have them meet you here at the station, would that be okay?"

He stuttered, "Yeah, yes, yes that'd be great."

"Okay sir, I-" Phil hung up before the officer finished her sentence. Usually, he would never do anything so rude, but he couldn't control himself. He couldn't listen to that officer talk anymore. His heart was beating erratically and he burst through the doors.

May was sitting at the front desk filling out some paperwork when she looked up and spotted him. "Hey babe, Pepper said you stopped by earlier. I was just about to go and… what's wrong?"

He still had the phone gripped tightly in his hand and he was breathing quickly. She stood up and rushed over to him. "Phil?"

He tried to calm his breathing as he looked at her worried face, "It's Skye."

* * *

Natasha was in her history class. Their teacher was sick so they were lucky enough to have been given the most laid-back substitute on the planet. He had given them an easy worksheet that everyone had completed in about five minutes and had let them talk for the remainder of the class. She, Clint, Bucky, and Steve had all moved their desks so that they were sitting in a small circle facing each other.

Clint was waving his hands around enthusiastically and telling them, in an overly-dramatic voice, about the fight he had gotten into with his brother yesterday. "I just can't stand him sometimes, you know?"

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and shook their heads, "We don't have brothers dude."

Clint looked over to her, "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Nat considered it for a second, "Actually, Trip, Pietro and I get along pretty well. I think I've only fought with Trip once and I've never actually gotten into a fight with Pietro before, we've just had some little arguments."

Clint groaned in frustration and let his head fall forward and onto the desk, "Consider yourselves lucky."

Steve clapped a hand to his back, "It's okay man. A couple more years and we're all out of here."

Natasha nodded, "You know that you can stay at my house if it ever gets too much. My parents love you and Skye keeps asking when you're going to come over."

Clint thanked her before straightening up and smiling, "How's the little munchkin?"

Natasha thought of Skye in her plaid shirt, pink leggings, and combat boots. She didn't know where she had gotten it from, but that little girl had style. "She's great. She started calling mom and dad, 'mommy' and 'daddy'. It's adorable."

Bucky smiled softly, "She's such a cute kid."

Nat agreed with him. She was pretty fond of children in general, she helped her dance instructors teach the younger kids sometimes and actually found herself enjoying it, but she absolutely loved Skye. "Yeah, she's going to sign up for dance class today."

Clint made an exaggerated mushy face, "Aw, little Skye wants to be just like her big sissy."

Natasha punched him in the arm. He hissed and started rubbing over the spot that she hit, "Ouch Red. That's a _good_ thing."

Steve nodded, "Yeah, you're a pretty good role model. It's good that she wants to be like you."

Bucky agreed, "Yeah, and can you imagine her running around in a little tutu? I didn't think it was possible for that kid to be even cuter, but I think that takes the cake."

Nat had to agree with that. Her little sister had been adorable in her Captain America costume and Rapunzel tiara. She would look so freaking cute in a tutu. She hoped that Skye would enjoy dancing as much as she did.

Dancing had always calmed her down and allowed her to clear her mind of all the things that were going on inside of her. She hoped that it would help Skye like it helped her, and even if it didn't, she hoped that the little girl had fun anyways.

She was about to say something back when there was a knock on the classroom door. The substitute opened it and a police officer walked in. She straightened up and looked around. What was going on?

The police officer whispered to the substitute and then said, "Is there a Natasha in here?"

Everyone turned to look at her. Steve gave her a worried look and whispered, "What did you do?!"

She shrugged, grabbed her bag, and stood up. As she walked towards the officer, the whole class went, "Ooooo." She turned around and gave everyone a dirty look.

She stopped in front of the substitute and the officer, "What's going on?"

He didn't say anything, just motioned for her to follow him. She was confused but did as she was told. She followed him to another classroom and waited outside as he went in. After a minute, he walked back out and this time, Trip was following him. She looked over to him to see if he knew what was going on but he looked as clueless as she felt.

He turned to the officer, "Listen man, I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell us what's going on."

The officer gave them a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry, but your foster sibling is missing. Your parents are waiting for you at the station, now come on, I'll give you a ride there."

He started walking down the hall but she and Trip just stood there in shock. They looked at each other and hastily tried to catch up with the officer.

Trip grabbed onto his arm, "What do you mean? Wanda and Pietro are over in Europe right now. Why would we be going to the police station? Shouldn't we be going to the airport?"

They got to the police car and he opened the back door for them. She refused to get in until he answered Trip's question and it seemed like Trip had the same idea.

The officer sighed, "Your older foster siblings are fine. It's your younger one, Skye, that's missing."

They both looked at each other again and silently got into the car.

It was a quiet ride, and the police station was only about five minutes away, so once they got there, they followed to officer inside. She spotted her mom and dad at the same time that Trip did and they both ran over to them. Their dad was pacing back and forth and their mom was standing stoically in front of a desk, glaring at the woman sitting there.

"Mom! What's going?"

Her mom turned around and saw them both running to her. She hastily walked over and met them halfway. She pulled them both into a hug and she felt her dad wrap his arms around all of them.

"They can't find Skye."

Natasha sucked in a breath. She had hoped that this had all been a terrible mistake, but hearing her mom say those words solidified everything.

"What do you mean? Did she run away?" Natasha couldn't imagine that ever happening, but the other option was way worse. There was no way that Skye had been kidnapped.

Her dad pulled away and everyone stepped out of the embrace, "We don't know. There are officers at the school going over where she last was, and Officer Anderson is going over the school's surveillance that they sent over right now. We just have to wait."

They all sat down. That lasted for about four seconds before her dad started pacing again and her mom wandered back up to the desk where the officer, who she was assuming was Officer Anderson, was typing away on her computer. She started biting her nails, something she only did when she was nervous, and shook her foot. Trip was staring at the floor.

That went on for about five more minutes before two officers walked in the doors. One of them was holding something familiar. She rushed over to him, "Where did you get that? That's not yours!" She yanked it out of his hands even though she knew she was supposed to be respectful towards police officers.

She felt her mom step up beside her, "What's going on?"

Nat held up the two dolls and saw her mom's face harden. "Skye would _never_ leave these behind. She didn't run away mom!"

Her mom shook her head, "We don't know that yet Nat."

She shook her head. Why wasn't her mom listening to her? Skye would never, ever leave behind Alice or Rapunzel. She loved them too much. She slept with them, dressed them, and brought them _everywhere._ She even _talked_ to them for God's sake! There was no way that Skye would leave them behind or forget about them.

She was about to say something back when she heard Officer Anderson speak up, "I've got something!"

They all rushed over and she gave her family a look, "I'm sorry, but you guys aren't really supposed to see this, just the officers-"

Her dad stepped close to Officer Anderson, "That's my daughter you're talking about, so you _better play the damn footage._ "

Natasha was impressed. She'd never heard her dad talk like that.

The officer gave him a look but didn't stop them when they leaned forward to look at her computer screen. Everything was in black and white and the officer pointed to a small figure playing in the sand with two dolls in her hand. "There she is. About a minute ago, a little girl fell off the monkey bars and broke her arm, that's why everyone is huddled over there. Skye seems to be the only one not there."

They watched as she glanced over her shoulder and stood up and grabbed her dolls. She went to take a step forward when someone in a baseball cap appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her around waist. Nat saw her little sister stiffen but then the person put something over Skye's mouth. She saw her little legs kick out, but then she went limp. Nat whimpered. Who would do that to a little kid? To her sister?

The person hurried off and she watched as Skye dropped her dolls onto the sand. The person kept their head down so that the baseball cap covered their face the whole time.

The officer spoke up again, "The person who took her must have known about the school's surveillance cameras."

Natasha looked up and saw her dad rubbing her mom's shoulders soothingly, but they all looked like she felt. Shocked, upset, scared, and extremely pissed off.

Her mom stepped forward and leaned in close to Officer Anderson's face. She couldn't see her mom's face, but she was assuming it was pretty scary, "Where's our little girl?"

The officer stuttered, "We aren't sure ma'am, but this is our top priority. We have officers creating road blocks across town and we put out an amber alert. We'll find her ma'am."

Her mom didn't say anything but backed off. The officer took a breath and went back to typing on her computer.

Natasha looked to her parents. They both weren't the type to show when they were freaking out, but Nat knew the signs. Her mom got more stoic than usual and her dad fidgeted and paced around a lot. Natasha knew that if they were freaking out, she should be freaking out, because if they couldn't control the situation, she didn't know who could.

* * *

Sorry guys! I promise, the next chapter will be all Skye.

Let me know what you guys thought and thanks for reading! You're all angels :) xx -Ariel


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey guys! I'm pretty sick right now, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again so I'm posting twice today. I'm going to the doctors tomorrow and hopefully he'll say I'll be better soon. Fingers crossed.**

 **I hope you guys like it! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye slowly started to become aware of her surroundings. She didn't open her eyes, but she felt something soft beneath her and she felt warm and cozy. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep when she remembered what happened. Her heart started beating erratically. Her eyes flew open and she jerked up. Looking around, she saw that she was in a room and lying on a bed. The room she was in looked nice. The walls were light green and there was nothing else really in there except for the bed and big letters on the wall that spelled out 'Daisy'. Who was Daisy?

She got up and went to the door. When she tried to turn the doorknob, it wouldn't budge. She made a frustrated noise and started twisting it harder. It wouldn't open. She ran to the one window in the room and tried to open it. She had to get back to her family. She tried lifting the window but it wouldn't move. She looked closer and saw that there were screws holding it in place.

She turned around in a circle but couldn't find any other way out. She felt her eyes start to well up with tears. Where was she? Who had taken her? She wanted her mom and dad and Natasha and Trip. She wanted Alice and Rapunzel. She looked around but couldn't see her dolls anywhere. She must have dropped them. Her hand instantly went to her chest and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt her moon necklace still hanging there. She rubbed the pendant between her fingers and it helped to calm her down a little.

She was standing in the middle of the room, rubbing her moon pendant between her fingers, when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked around in panic. There was nowhere to hide! The bed was too low to the ground to climb under, so she backed into the far corner and slid down the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest and put her head on them in an attempt to make herself as small as possible.

She heard the doorknob jiggle a little and then heard a squeak when the door opened. She refused to look up.

She heard a distinctly male voice speak up, "Hello."

She tried to make herself even smaller by tugging her legs closer to her, but they wouldn't get any closer than they already were. She unwrapped one arm from around her legs, brought it to her chest, and grabbed her necklace. She didn't say anything. She didn't like talking to strangers, _especially_ ones that _stole_ her. Would this count as kidnapping? She wasn't really anyone's kid, so maybe it wouldn't? Did it work that way? She _was_ a kid, so maybe it would be considered kidnapping. That thought made her throat start to constrict.

She heard footsteps heading her way and whimpered. The voice spoke up again, "Shhh it's okay Daisy."

Skye's face scrunched up. Who was he talking to? Her name was Skye, and before that, it was Mary Sue. Her name had never been Daisy and there wasn't anyone else in the room.

The footsteps stopped right in front of her and she felt herself start to shake.

"Daisy?"

She could feel herself growing angry. It was a stupid thing to be angry about. She _should_ feel angry that this person kidnapped her and took her away from her family and friends, but that mostly just scared her and made her feel panicky. It made her a _ngry_ that he stole her and he didn't even know her name.

She could feel the words making their way up her throat, angry words that wouldn't do anyone any good, so she squashed them down. Yelling at grown-ups usually made them mad or yell back or hurt her. She didn't know what this guy wanted, but she didn't want to get hurt.

The voice spoke up again. She pressed her face further into her knees even though it was starting to hurt a little bit and the air was getting hot around her. "I can see that you're a little upset right now. How about I go get some food for you and then we can talk?"

He phrased it as a question. She didn't know what he expected her to say, but she wasn't going to say _anything_.

She didn't hear him move for a couple of seconds, but then she heard his footsteps retreat and the door open and close again. She heard him lock it immediately after shutting it. She kept her head down for a little bit, just in case he was pretending, but when she didn't hear anything, she looked up. The room was empty.

She jumped up and inspected the room again. Maybe there was a way out that she hadn't seen. She rechecked the window and door, both those were both firmly shut. She looked under the bed, but there was nothing there. There was a chair sitting in the other corner of the room with a blanket thrown over it. Other than that and the letters spelling out Daisy on the wall, there was nothing else in there.

She forced herself to calm down and think. She needed to get back to her family. She didn't want to be here.

She remembered that the man had said that he would be back. Maybe she could slip through the door, run out, and get help. Her palms started to get sweaty and she could still feel her heart pounding in her chest at the thought, but she needed to try.

She looked around and figured that standing behind the door would probably work best. That way, he wouldn't see her when he opened the door and that could help her sneak out. She rushed behind the door and waited quietly.

She heard footsteps approaching the door again along with the sound of the man humming to a song. That made her think of Phil and that made her feel like there was a giant knot in her stomach.

She took a deep breath and told herself to focus. She made sure she stayed quiet and held her breath and the doorknob jiggled again. She heard it unlock and then saw the door open. She was hidden behind it and she saw a tall figure take three steps into the room and look around.

"Daisy?"

She made sure to stay quiet and saw him set a tray down on the floor before moving toward the bed. He started to crouch down, she assumed it was so that he could look under it to try to find her, but she didn't wait to see. She bolted out the door and found herself in a dark hallway. She didn't stop. She kept running, even when she heard the man shout behind her.

She didn't know where she was but she looked for a door. She found one, yanked it open, and whimpered when she saw that it only led to a bathroom. She kept running and glanced back when she heard footsteps getting closer. She couldn't help herself, she glanced back. She saw a tall man with longish brown hair. He was dressed nicely, like Phil had dressed when they went to Natasha's dance recital. That's all she saw before she turned back around and forced her legs to move faster.

She looked around frantically and saw another door. This one looked more promising. It was right next to a window and she could see a street with houses all around her. Was she in a neighborhood? She didn't care. She bolted towards the door and wrapped her hand around the doorknob. It was locked and she groaned as she unlocked the deadbolt and threw it open. She felt relief wash through her as it opened up and hit the wall behind it.

She squinted at the bright light and went to move forward when she felt two hands wrap around her waist and drag her back inside. Ice cold dread shot through her and she started screaming, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear her. The man lifted her with one arm and held her back to his chest. She kicked and flailed her arms around and screamed as loudly as she could, but it didn't seem to faze him. He closed and locked the door with his other hand and started making his way back to the room.

She heard him sigh deeply before saying, "Now, now Daisy. You don't want to do that."

She couldn't stop herself. Her throat was starting to hurt from screaming and she stopped for a second to take a deep breath and yell, "That's. Not. My. Name!" She punctuated each word with a kick.

He didn't seem to acknowledge her. He just walked back into the room and set her down before turning to shut and lock the door. She scrambled away from him and backed up until she hit the wall.

The man turned back to her and she finally got a good look at his face. He looked old. He had dark eyes and was smoothing out his fancy jacket when he took a deep breath, looked up, and smiled at her. What was he doing? He shouldn't be smiling right now. What was even happening?

"Please don't try to run Daisy. I've been waiting to meet you for a very long time."

She felt angry tears well up in her eyes and spill over. She crossed her arms and stomped her foot. "My name isn't Daisy!"

An angry look passed the man's face before he shook it off. She shrunk back a little.

"Yes it is. That was your name when you were a little baby."

Skye's face scrunched up in confusion. She tried to focus on what he was saying but her heart was beating so fast and she was breathing too quickly to respond.

She didn't say anything, just focused on trying to calm down her breathing. May wasn't here to help her if she freaked out and had another panic attack.

The man spoke up again, "My name's Cal and I'm your father."

This guy was crazy. There was _no way_ that what he was saying was true, so that meant that he was crazy. Actually, he was already crazy because he _kidnapped_ her. People who aren't crazy don't go around stealing people!

She shook her head. She didn't believe him. He was a bad man, and bad people lied.

Her breathing wasn't getting any slower, but it wasn't getting any quicker either, so that was good. Tears were still leaking out of her eyes and the knot in her tummy felt like it was getting tighter and tighter. The man kept talking and she wished that he would stop, "I hoped that we could meet under different circumstances, but unfortunately this is the best I could do. Do you like your room? It's only temporary of course. We'll be leaving here soon enough to start over somewhere else, as a family."

He was going to take her away? Did that mean that she was still in her town? She felt herself start to hope and wished that May and Phil were here to save her.

The man kept talking, but she put her hands over her ears and started humming a Tangled song so that she couldn't hear him. She shook her head, closed her eyes, and continued humming. May and Phil were going to save her. They loved her and they were probably looking for her right now, she just had to wait for them to find her. She focused on that thought and felt her breathing start to slow down fractionally.

She could hear the man, Cal, talking louder and she just wanted it to stop. She started crying harder, and any progress that she had just made with her breathing didn't matter anymore. She could feel her throat constricting and her breathing quicken. She knew that she was having a panic attack.

She sobbed. She wished that her mom and dad were here to help her. She tried to suck in air but it wasn't working. Her vision started to get fuzzy and when she felt her eyes start to close, she welcomed it.

* * *

When she woke up again, she hoped that everything that happened before was just a dream. She opened her eyes and any hope that she was feeling died right away. She saw through the window that it was now dark outside. How long had she been asleep? She gripped the blankets and… wait? Blankets? She _knew_ that she was on the floor by the wall when she had passed out. At least, she thought she passed out, she had never done it before. It definitely wasn't falling asleep, so she assumed that she had passed out.

That meant that the man, Cal, had _carried_ her to the bed. Her skin prickled and she felt dirty. She hopped off the bed and walked over to the window. Even though it was dark outside, there was a streetlamp nearby and she could see alright. There was a house on either side of her. One looked like no one lived there. The plants were dead and the grass was overgrown. The other house looked promising. The grass was neat and there were toys all over the lawn. It had a miniature playground and a swing set and it looked like it was used a lot. Maybe someone would be out there when it was light out and they would see her.

She jerked around when she heard the door open. The man's head poked inside and he smiled when he spotted her. She involuntarily cringed.

He stepped into the room and locked the door behind him. He motioned to the tray that was still sitting on the floor. It had a sandwich on it and a glass of water. Her stomach rolled just looking at the food.

"Aren't you hungry?"

She refused to answer him. Sometimes it was better to just say nothing. She grabbed onto her moon pendant and told herself to be brave. May thought that she was brave, so she could try to be.

She stared the man in the eye, even though she could feel her palms start to get sweaty. "Why did you take me?"

He made to step closer to her, and even though she was trying to be brave, she huddled closer to the wall. He saw that and stopped moving. She let out a sigh of relief.

The man started playing with his hands and he looked nervous. Why was he nervous? He wasn't the one who had been _kidnapped_.

"Well, like I said earlier, I'm your father."

She could feel herself growing angry again. What was he talking about?

"No you aren't!"

She didn't even care that she was yelling at a grown-up. She tried to look brave, but she didn't think that it was working so well.

"Yes I am! I am! You were _taken_ away from me."

His voice got louder and louder and she cowered away from him. He saw and visibly tried to calm himself down. She didn't like him. She _hated_ him.

"No you aren't! I don't have a real mom and dad! May and Phil are my mom and dad!" She started off sounding confident, but her voice wavered towards the end.

"No they aren't Daisy! You were _taken_ from me and given to the nuns. You're _mine_."

Skye didn't believe him but arguing wasn't getting her anywhere. She thought that maybe humoring him would be better. "If you're my dad, where's my mom?"

The man, Cal, she had to keep reminding herself that he had a name, looked pained before he answered, "She died giving birth to you. You look just like her. My Daisy."

Skye was about to say that that wasn't her name, but she had already said that and it didn't seem to be helping. She didn't know what to do with the information he had just provided her. If her birth-mom was dead, it would make sense that she had been given up, but Skye didn't want to believe that this man was her father. Phil was her father.

Phil loved her, higher than the sky and more than all the water in the ocean. More than chocolate chip cookies. He made her feel safe and loved and happy. He played dress up with her and helped her feel better when she got hurt. That's what _real_ dads did. This man wasn't a dad. Dad's didn't kidnap people, or scare them, or make them have panic attacks and _pass out_. She refused to believe him.

He seemed to get angry when she said that he wasn't her dad, so she steered clear of that. She was pretty good at evading topics that would result in someone yelling at her or her getting hurt.

" _If_ you're my dad, where have you been?"

He tried to step closer to her but she held her hands up and he stopped. He looked away and straightened his tie before looking back at her. "When you were born, they tried to take you away from me. I had just lost your mother, I wasn't going to lose you too, so I did some bad things and ran away with you. They were catching up to us, so I left you with the nuns. I was going to come back for you in a day or two, when things were safer, but then they caught me. They locked me up and I wasn't allowed out until about two weeks ago."

He took a deep breath and Skye stayed silent. He smiled at her, "As soon as I was free, I looked for you Daisy. I finally found you and I couldn't get you until now. Those _fake_ parents kept you too close, but now we're finally together."

Skye heard what he was saying. She understood the words, but they held no meaning for her. She couldn't figure out what he was saying.

He opened his mouth again and she shook her head. She couldn't…do this. She wanted her mom and her dad. She wanted Trip and Nattie and Alice and Rapunzel. She wanted to be in her room, in her comfy pajamas, with May and Phil reading her a bedtime story and giving her a kiss goodnight. She didn't like this man. He was scaring her and although he tried to act like he was nice, nice people didn't kidnap you and lock you up.

She shut her eyes. "Could you…could you go away?" She whispered.

Her eyes were closed so she couldn't see his expression, but he was quiet for a minute. When he finally spoke up, his voice was soft and Skye hated it, "Okay. Maybe we can talk more tomorrow?"

Skye couldn't force herself to answer. She heard him sigh and walk towards the door, "Okay Daisy. Goodnight."

She heard him shut the door and lock it. She let out a breath.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home.

She tugged the sheets off the bed and laid down on the floor. She curled up on her side and stared at the green wall. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she didn't try to stop them. Out of everything that he had said, the way that he had repeatedly called her Daisy stuck in her head.

She wasn't _Daisy_.

Her whole life, she had been trying to figure out who she was. First she was Mary Sue, the stupid foster kid with no parents and no friends. No one who loved her, stuck in an orphanage and put into foster families left and right. When she was four she decided that she wasn't Mary Sue, she was _Skye._ Skye was much better than Mary Sue, but it was still hard to try and figure out who she was when she was being called names and was put down by every family who took her in. When she started living with May and Phil, she had finally started to _feel_ like herself. She didn't have to spend all of her time being scared, she could focus on becoming who she was. She finally felt like Skye and she wasn't going to let some mean man tell her that that's not who she was. She _knew_ who she was, and it wasn't _his_ Daisy.

She had too many thoughts swirling around in her brain, so she stayed awake until her eyes couldn't stay open any longer, and then she gladly welcomed the comfort of sleep.

* * *

What'd you guys think? A lot of people thought that Ward's older brother was the one who kidnapped Skye and I honestly hadn't thought of that but that would have been an extremely interesting story line!

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I love hearing what you guys have to say :) xx -Ariel


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay and thank you to everyone who sent good vibes my way with their 'get well soon' wishes! You guys are the best :)**

 **Anyways, here's the new chapter and I hope you like it! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

May felt like her blood was boiling and she was going to explode. Skye had been gone for _hours_ and they still had no leads. The officers had said that all of Skye's past foster families had airtight alibis and May couldn't think of anyone else who would take her. There was no ransom call or anything. They had nothing.

She knew she was getting on the officers nerves. She knew that it would probably be better if she let them do their job without getting in their way, but she couldn't stop herself. That was her _baby_ out there, all alone and with some stranger. She had been through too much already, why was this happening to Skye?

She was sitting between Natasha and Trip. Phil had gone to get them coffee and May suspected that he just needed something to do. She was stroking Natasha's hair and thinking about Skye which was a dangerous thing to do right now.

Was she hurt? Had she eaten? God, was she cold? She knew that Skye was prone to panic attacks and she hoped that the little girl didn't have one because she didn't want her to go through that alone. That was stupid to think about, of course Skye would be panicking right now. Was she being hurt? Ignored? She couldn't even think about anything worse than that. She wouldn't.

Phil came back and handed her a cup of coffee. She couldn't drink it but she took it from him just because she wanted him to know that she was grateful. She stood up and they walked away from the kids but made sure that they were still in sight.

She leaned into him and put her forehead on his chest, "What're we going to do?"

Phil ran his fingers through her hair, "We're doing everything we can."

She huffed out a breath, "I feel like we should be doing more."

"I know." She knew that he understood what she was feeling. He always did. It was a weird connection that they always had that had freaked her out at first but had eventually led to their marriage. They always knew what the other was feeling.

She leaned back and looked up at him, "What're we missing Phil? We're missing something, I can feel it."

She saw him nod and watched as the gears in his head started turning. He was thinking of something, and from the determined set of his mouth, it was pretty important.

He seemed to have come to a conclusion because he gently pushed her back a little and held her at arms length, "They said that they checked all of Skye's past foster families, right?"

May nodded. Phil was there when Officer Anderson said that they were all innocent.

Phil gave her a questioning look, "What about, and hear me out here, what about her biological parents?"

The stress was obviously getting to him because he knew as well as she did that Skye's file had literally nothing in there about her birth parents.

He grabbed her hand and started leading her towards Officer Anderson's desk, "I know what you're thinking, I can see it, but hear me out. We don't know much about her real parents because she was left on the doorsteps of the orphanage, but we _do_ know that she was a few days old when she was abandoned. What if we could look into hospital records and see if any newborns match up with that time frame? We might be able to track down her real parents!"

That was actually a good idea, and if she were being honest with herself right now, nothing could hurt at this point.

They walked up to Officer Anderson's desk and Phil told her his idea. She had doubted him at first but then said that it might actually work. She told a couple of other detectives about Phil's idea and they said that they would get on it.

She couldn't force herself to smile, not when her baby was still missing, but she grabbed Phil's hand and squeezed it, hoping that he would understand what she was thinking. He would know what the action meant. He always did.

* * *

When Skye woke up, she immediately rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. She didn't want to be awake. She didn't want to be here and she _definitely_ didn't want to be in the same house as Crazy Cal. That's what she had decided to call him. Cal felt too personal and there was no way she was e _ver_ going to call him her dad, so Crazy Cal it was.

When she deemed it impossible to go back to sleep, she groaned and got up. She wondered if May and Phil were looking for her? Did they miss her like she missed them?

She noted that it was light out and she wandered over to the window. She looked outside and froze when she saw movement from the neighbor's house. There was a girl playing outside, she looked about three years older than Skye was, and an older man was outside playing with her.

She started banging on the glass but then reconsidered when she realized that Crazy Cal could hear her. The neighbors didn't even glance her way.

She could feel herself start to panic. What if this was her only chance to get away before he decided to move her? He had said that they were going to go somewhere else and live together as a family. The thought made her feel a little sick. She already _had_ a family.

She forced herself to calm down and think. This window wouldn't open…but maybe the one in the bathroom would? She ran to the door and started banging on it, "Hey! I have to go potty! Hey!"

She kept banging on the door until she heard him unlock it and took a step back. The door swung open and she scrambled back even further. Crazy Cal was smiling at her. He shut the door and locked it again.

"Did you sleep okay?" The worst part was that he sounded genuinely interested in her answer.

She avoided his gaze and mumbled, "I have to go potty."

"Oh! Yes, of course. Do you… want to take a shower too? You might feel better if you're in some clean clothes."

She would feel better when she was away from him, but she needed to get to the bathroom. Maybe the sound of the shower running would let her make some noise without him hearing?

She nodded and he walked over to the chair and threw the blanket off of it. There was a bag under it and he rifled through it and produced a handful of new clothes. He walked back to her and offered her the clothes. She didn't want to reach towards him but she knew that she had to, so she quickly reached out and grabbed the new clothes, making sure that her hand never touched his.

He unlocked the door and led her to the bathroom. She walked inside and blocked the doorway so that he couldn't get in. She stared up at him. He looked confused for a second before saying, "Oh, uh, I'll wait out here. Do you need anything else?"

Skye thought about it. Everything that Crazy Cal had done and said so far had made it seem like he wanted to be her dad. Maybe he wouldn't try to hurt her? If he was going to wait outside the door, there was no way that she would be able to yell to the neighbors. She needed something louder.

She fidgeted and braced herself, "I listen to music when I'm in the shower."

He stared down at her and was quiet. She was afraid that she had asked for too much. He was going to yell at her and hurt her. She could feel her heartbeat speed up.

He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, "I don't know…"

She _needed_ music. She needed it to mask the sound of her voice, without it, this wouldn't work. She felt tears stinging in her eyes and a huge knot form in her tummy when she thought about what she was about to say.

"Please... dad? I can't shower without music on."

Saying those words felt like fire in her throat.

He cracked at that, "Okay, but I'll have to play it from out here because I can't give you the phone. I'm sorry Daisy."

She quickly said, "No, that's okay. Play Mulan music please," before shutting the door.

She sagged against the door for a second. She couldn't believe that she had just done that. She felt the tears that had been stinging her eyes fall onto her cheeks and she didn't try to stop them.

She took a deep breath and looked around. She really _did_ have to go to the bathroom, so she did that before switching the shower on. She heard music on the other side of the door but it wasn't loud enough, "I can't hear it! Make it louder!"

He said something that she couldn't make out but the music got louder. She looked at the window. It was next to the toilet and was facing the same way that her room was so she could still see the neighbors playing outside. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

She climbed onto the toilet and inspected the window. It wasn't screwed shut like the one in her room was but it only opened a little ways. It was the kind of window that you had to crank open.

She cranked it open as far as it would go and was grateful to see that her arm would fit through it. She started waving her arm frantically, hoping that the neighbors would notice her. They didn't.

She groaned and glanced back to the door. It wouldn't lock without a key, so she would have to be careful because Crazy Cal could walk in at any time.

She turned back to the window and stuck her hand out as far as it would go. "Hey! Help! Help me please! Hello?" She whisper-yelled, but it wasn't loud enough.

She winced at the sound of her voice. It sounded really loud to her and she could feel her anxiety increasing. She started hitting the side of the house with her hand, hoping that that would be louder than her yelling was. She watched as the girl looked over. She waved frantically and hoped that the girl could see her.

She saw the girl tug on her dad's shirt and point. She kept waving frantically and started chanting, "Please, please, please."

She grabbed the shirt that Crazy Cal had given her to change into and stuck it out the window and waved it around like a crazy person.

The father and daughter looked around and she saw as the older man said something to his daughter before he started to walk in her direction. He climbed over the fence separating their yards and she whimpered out of relief. She glanced back at the door. Crazy Cal didn't seem to know that anything was going on.

The guy was now a couple feet away from her and she could see the confused look on his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

He was talking in a normal voice and Skye frantically shushed him. She nervously looked back to the door.

"Daisy? Are you okay?"

"Um… I was just singing! Can you change the song? I don't really like this one!"

She didn't bother to listen to what he said in response, just noted how he obediently changed the song for her.

She was still crying but she whispered to the guy, "Please, you have to help me! I want to go home!"

The guy moved closer and peered at her, "What's going on?"

Skye hiccupped and forced herself to calm down. She couldn't screw this up. "This guy kidnapped me! He took me from school! My name's Skye and I want to go home! Please! You have to help me!"

She watched as the guy's eyes widened, "Okay sweetie, it'll be okay. I'm going to call the cops alright? Hang tight."

She nodded and sagged a little in relief. "Thank you!"

She saw him take a cell phone out of his pocket and press a couple of numbers, "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "No, but-"

She was interrupted by Crazy Cal's voice, "You almost done in there?"

The older guy tried to look into the window but she waved him off, "You need to go! He can't see you!"

She turned to the door, "Almost done!"

She hopped off the toilet and looked around. He would notice that her hair wasn't wet from the shower! She took her clothes off and stood under the water long enough for her hair to get wet, before shutting it off and frantically drying herself off. She got dressed in her new clothes, even though putting on clothes that Crazy Cal had bought for her made her instantly feel dirty again.

She quickly pulled her boots back on and hopped up on the toilet again. The guy was back in his yard but he was staring at the window. She could see that his phone was to his ear and his lips were moving. She felt hope flash through her.

She jumped off of the toilet and wrapped her hand around her moon pendant. That guy was helping her and she was going to be back with her real family soon.

* * *

May was leaning over Officer Anderson's shoulder. She knew that if someone was doing that to her, she would literally break their arm, but Officer Anderson hadn't said anything so she assumed that it was okay.

She was shuffling through some papers, "Okay, so it seems like there were multiple births that occurred in the area in the time frame that you gave me. We narrowed down the results tremendously by plugging in some key information and we think we have a hit. A woman died giving birth to a baby girl about two days before Skye was dropped off at the St. Agnes. Social services was going to take the child anyway because the father wasn't fit to raise her. Apparently he was a known drug user and had a violent past, but police reports say that he attacked an officer and ran away with the baby. They caught up with him a couple days later but couldn't find the child. This could be our guy."

May sucked in a breath. This man sounded dangerous and she didn't want to think about Skye being around him.

Phil spoke up, "What's his name?"

The officer looked up at them, "Calvin Zabo. I've alerted every officer in the area and sent his picture to the local news station so if anyone see's him, we'll know about it."

May nodded. They finally had a lead. She finally had something to focus on, something other than her little girl, who was probably terrified right now. Whenever she thought about that, she froze up and could swear that her heart stopped beating.

They went back to Trip and Natasha and sat down. They told them what was going on and they sat in silence for a couple of minutes. They were all waiting for someone to call in.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of motion coming from Officer Anderson's desk. May shot up and felt everyone else stand up beside her. They quickly made their way to the desk and saw a bunch of officers strapping on some gear and speaking to one another.

May grabbed Officer Anderson's arm, "What's going on?"

The woman looked at her, "We got a call from a man saying that a little girl named Skye was in a house a couple of blocks away. She told him that she was kidnapped and the man who called in provided an accurate description of her. We've got her."

She felt her knees buckle and she grabbed onto Phil to help support her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned into him a little bit.

"We're going to get her right now but we aren't sure if he's armed. If you'll just wait here-"

Officer Anderson must be crazy if she thought that she was just going to sit by and wait for them to bring her little girl back. Apparently Phil had been thinking the same thing because he interrupted the officer, "We aren't waiting here, we're coming with you."

The officer started to protest, "No sir, you really should-"

May silenced her, "Listen, I know you're just trying to do your job here, but you're talking about my little girl okay? We aren't going to sit here and wait while you go and get her. Now, you can either take us with you or we'll just follow you in our own car. What's it going to be?"

The officer gave her an exasperated look but relented. Natasha and Trip made a move to follow them but Phil stopped them both, "Sorry guys but you need to stay here."

Trip looked angry, "What? No! We want to go with you!"

Phil grabbed his arm, "I know you do Trip, but it could be dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt. Please."

He looked like he was about to protest again but then Natasha grabbed his arm, "We'll wait here, but you better keep us updated."

They both nodded and May leaned in and kissed her kids foreheads before following Officer Anderson to her squad car. They climbed into the back and she grabbed onto Phil's hand as they made their way to Skye.

* * *

Skye was back in her room. She was sitting against the corner and Crazy Cal was sitting a couple of feet away, talking to her. "It's going to be great Daisy. We can finally be a family."

She absently nodded at him and stared at the door. Where was May and Phil?

He kept talking, "We can paint your room whatever color you want and we can get you a puppy. Do you like puppies?"

Skye nodded again and continued to stare at the door. Maybe the guy _hadn't_ called the police. Maybe he thought that she was lying and didn't believe her.

"I know that this situation isn't ideal, but I really want us to be a family Daisy. I want this to work."

She jerked her gaze away from the door and looked at him. He sounded serious and that made an unidentifiable combination of feelings erupt in her stomach because he was saying what she had been thinking just a couple of weeks ago. She had wanted a family. She wanted somewhere to belong and for someone to love her. She felt confused. Maybe… Crazy Cal wasn't as crazy as she thought he was? She knew what it was like to desperately want a family.

She mentally slapped herself. _Normal_ people didn't kidnap other people so that they could have a family. Skye had never made someone feel unsafe just because she wanted someone to love her. It wasn't right.

She went back to staring at the door, but now she felt different than before. She was still angry and scared, but now she felt sympathetic. She wished that she didn't. It was easier to just be angry.

He kept talking, "Yes, we'll find you a nice puppy and he can sleep with you at night. We'll have to get new identities, but I'll enroll you in a nice school and you'll make some new friends. It'll be-"

Suddenly the door slammed open and she screamed. People dressed in black stormed in and they had guns pointed at Crazy Cal. They were big. She covered her head with her hands and pulled her knees closer to her chest but kept her eyes on the scene unfolding before her.

One of them spoke, "Step away from the girl and send her over here."

Cal slowly stood up, "No."

One of them started moving towards her but Crazy Cal stepped in front of her, "Stay where you are."

The same person in black spoke up, "You're surrounded. Give us the girl. We don't want anyone to get hurt."

She saw Crazy Cal's hand slowly inch towards his hip. What was he doing? There was no way that he could get away. He had been the one to bolt the window and the other people were blocking the door.

She watched him lift his shirt and yank something from the band of his pants. She saw a flash of metal and she screamed again and started to sob. He pulled out a gun, it was smaller than the other guys', but he pointed it at them anyway.

She whimpered.

Crazy Cal tilted his head a little bit towards her but kept his gaze on the people in black, "It's okay Daisy, don't worry."

The man spoke up again, "Don't do anything stupid, we don't want anyone to get hurt. Put the gun down."

Crazy Cal didn't listen to him. If anything, he reached his hand out further so that the gun was _closer_ to the man in black.

"I won't let you take her from me again."

"Sir! Put the gun down right now!"

Another man turned towards her, "It's going to be okay Skye."

Crazy Cal shouted at him, "Don't call her that!"

The man turned to him, "You don't want her to be seeing this, do you?"

Crazy Cal tilted his head towards her again, "Daisy, close your eyes. It's going to be okay."

She couldn't shut her eyes. The only part of her that would move was her hand rubbing over her moon pendant.

After that, Skye lost track of what was going on. There was a lot of shouting and she covered her ears because it was hurting her head. She saw the man in black move closer to Crazy Cal and that wasn't a good thing to do. Even though her hands were over her ears, she heard a loud bang fill the room and watched as the man in black fell backwards. She screamed again and started crying harder.

As soon as the man in black hit the floor, she heard three other shots ring out. This time though, it wasn't from Crazy Cal's gun. She felt detached as she watched him fall onto the ground and land on his back. His head lolled and faced her. There was blood pouring out of his neck and she could see his chest rising up and down erratically. He reached a hand out towards her and she huddled closer to the wall.

His lips moved for a second and then she saw his chest stop moving.

His eyes fell shut and there was blood pooling on the floor. The puddle was getting closer to her and she watched as it spread onto her pant leg and then onto the bottom of her shirt.

She looked back at Crazy Cal's face and knew that he was dead. She had seen dead people before and knew what it looked like.

She opened her mouth and screamed and screamed and screamed.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Sorry to those of you who like Cal! I actually ended up enjoying his character for the last part of the season so having him die wasn't a personal vendetta or anything, I promise!

Please let me know what you guys thought and thank you for reading :) xx -Ariel


	29. Chapter 29

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! It was pretty difficult for me to write, mainly because I literally have no idea how legal things or justice things work, so sorry if it makes no sense (I get all my info from Law and Order: SVU and I know that's not a reliable source :P ).**

 **If you guys want to start submitting prompts for the one-shot collection, you can do that here or over on my tumblr page! Thanks for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye wasn't really sure what happened after that. She remembered someone getting close to her but she couldn't focus on anything other than the dead body in front of her. He was dead. She didn't like him and he had kidnapped her, but he didn't deserve to be _dead_.

He was dead and his blood was on her and it was starting to get cold. She was shivering and her throat was starting to hurt so she stopped screaming.

She felt like she wasn't there inside of her body. It felt like she was seeing everything in a daze and she didn't know what was happening. There were voices and movement going on around her and she couldn't focus on anything.

The person closest to her was saying something but she couldn't hear what it was, everything sounded muted and distorted. She saw a hand reach towards her and that kind of snapped her out of her daze. She flinched back and looked at the person whose hand was extended towards her. It was one of the people in black. She didn't think that she liked them very much. They were dangerous.

He said something else but she didn't hear him. She saw him sigh and reach forward, but this time he didn't stop when she flinched back, he just grabbed her gently and lifted her up. She tried to scream again but her throat was raw so nothing really came out, but that didn't stop her from kicking and hitting at the guy. It didn't seem to have any effect on him.

Suddenly it was bright out and she was squinting in the sunlight and when her eyes adjusted, she felt herself being placed on an uncomfortable cot in an ambulance. A woman in a uniform reached for her and she jerked away and whimpered. Why wouldn't anyone leave her alone?

She saw a different hand reach for her and flinched again. She recognized the ring that decorated this hand though. She looked up and into May's worried face. Phil was standing right beside her looking relieved and nervous. She knew that she should be happy, ecstatic that she was back with her family, but she just felt empty. She didn't know what was going on.

May went to put her hand on Skye's arm but she involuntarily jerked away. May changed directions and placed it on the cot beside her instead. "Skye, you need to let the nice paramedic look over you. She's going to make sure that you're alright okay? She's very nice and won't hurt you, I promise."

Skye listened to what May was saying and it took her a couple of seconds to understand. She had to let the lady look over her. She was nice. She wouldn't hurt her. May promised, and May never broke her promises.

She didn't say anything, but when the paramedic reached for her again, she forced herself to sit still and let her check her over. She didn't like it. She didn't want a stranger's hands all over her, but May said that she needed to do it so that they would know that she was okay so she allowed it.

She knew she should say something. She should tell them how much she had missed them and that she was happy that they had found her, but her voice wasn't working. Whenever she went to say something, it felt like she was being strangled. Words were clawing their way up her throat and if she let them out, she didn't know what would happen. It was safer to just stay silent. Words can hurt. They hurt people and they make bad things happen and they make everything worse and it was better to just be quiet.

She still felt detached from herself but it was getting better. She was now aware of everything going on around her but it didn't make her feel any more like herself.

The paramedic finished what she was doing and she heard her tell May and Phil that she was fine. She didn't feel fine.

Another woman, this one in a police officer uniform, walked over and smiled. She tilted her head and stared at her. Who was she?

The lady said something to her but she had stopped listening once the paramedic said that she was done. She stared blankly at the lady before the older woman turned to May and Phil and said something else. May nodded and turned back to her. She leaned forward and Skye focused on her, "Skye? Officer Anderson needs a quick statement from you okay? Then we can take you home."

Home. She wanted to go home. She focused on the officer and tried to listen to what she said, "Hello Skye. We just need you to confirm or deny that the man inside, Calvin Zabo, was the man who kidnapped and restrained you."

She focused on the words that were being spoken to her. She knew that if she answered she could go home, but she couldn't make her voice work.

The officer lady smiled gently at her, "Okay, if it was him who took you, nod your head, if it was someone else, shake your head."

Skye nodded at her and the lady thanked her before turning to May and Phil again. She started talking again but Skye ignored her. She answered the question. She could go home now.

* * *

Officer Anderson was talking to her but she was only half listening, she was mostly focused on Skye. May's heart ached as she studied her little girl. The blank look in her eyes was like a punch to her stomach and all she wanted to do was wrap the little girl up in a hug but she knew that Skye still needed some space.

She was still trying to recover from everything that had happened. When they had arrived on scene, the officers had forced them to stay outside by the car while most of them went into the house. She thought that those minutes of unknown silence were going to be the worst part but she was wrong. So wrong.

There had been four gunshots and three police officers had had to restrain her and Phil from rushing into the house. There was distant screaming coming from inside the house and May could feel her heart breaking and tears running down her face as she listened to it.

Then she had seen a tall man carrying a kicking Skye out of the house with blood on her clothes and her heart had literally stopped. She couldn't catch her breath and the police officer holding her back couldn't stop her from rushing to the ambulance that Skye was set in. She was desperate to see if she was alright and to hold her, but when she leaned in to hug the little girl, Skye had flinched back. That had hurt. It had hurt a _lot_ , but she had shaken it off and focused solely on Skye. She looked her over and couldn't find any injuries, but she needed the paramedic to check and make sure.

Officer Anderson put a hand on her arm and pulled her back to the present. May focused on her and listened as the officer's voice lowered as she told them what happened. May checked to make sure that Skye couldn't hear but that didn't seem to be a problem because the little girl appeared to be staring off into space. Her heart clenched at the sight.

Officer Anderson had told them what went on in the house and was now telling them what would be happening in the future, "The case is pretty much closed. Now that Skye identified Calvin Zabo as her kidnapper, we don't have to continue investigating. Usually we would need Skye to issue a more formal statement, but I don't think the judge will push her for it. It's a relatively simple case and you should be able to take her home now."

She nodded and Phil said, "Okay, thank you."

"Just doing my job sir. I'll have an officer bring Natasha and Trip back to your house in your car. Let me know when you're ready to leave and I'll drop you off at your house."

The officer nodded at them and then walked away. She glanced at Phil before taking a deep breath and turning back to Skye. She was still staring blankly ahead of her except now her eyelids were drooping. Her adrenaline must have started to wear off.

She moved closer but made sure not to touch Skye, she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or nervous. She wanted Skye to feel like she was in control here.

"You feeling sleepy?"

The little girl didn't say anything but she started to sway a little.

Phil stepped closer, to catch her if she fell, but May put a hand on his arm. He looked at her and then back at Skye before saying, "Why don't you lie down sweetie? It's okay to take a nap."

She watched as Skye fought to stay awake but eventually she slowly laid down on the cot and closed her eyes. She saw her breathing deepen and her whole body relaxed.

She felt Phil wrap and arm around her and she turned and hugged him tightly, "I thought…"

She felt him place a kiss on the top of her head, "I know."

She pressed her face against his chest. "The gunshots…" Her voice cracked against her own will.

"I know. Me too."

They stood there for a couple of minutes, finding solace in each other, before she let out a deep breath, "Let's go home."

He nodded and leaned into the ambulance to gently pick Skye up. He held her close and she went and found Officer Anderson to tell her that they were ready to leave.

They both sat in the backseat and Phil made sure that Skye was in a comfortable position before Officer Anderson drove off.

She knew that the paramedic had a said that Skye was fine, but she needed to see for herself. She gently grabbed Skye's arm and inspected it, then she did the same with her other arm, and then both of her legs. It hadn't escaped her attention that Skye was wearing a different set of clothes, but when she carefully pulled up Skye's shirt to exam her belly and waist, she didn't see any bruises or marks even though her clothes were stained with blood.

After completing her inspection and feeling content with the results, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Skye's forehead. She could finally breathe again.

Officer Anderson pulled up to their house and they thanked her before getting out of the car and walking to their front door. She unlocked it and followed Phil up to Skye's room. She watched as he set her down on her bed and pulled her sheets over her tiny body. She grabbed the desk chair and pulled it up close to the bed and sat on it. She wasn't going to take her eyes off of Skye until she woke up. She didn't know if she would _ever_ feel comfortable leaving Skye alone again.

She saw Phil walk up with the chair that belonged to the desk in their room and set it on the other side of the bed. They both sat there and watched Skye sleep for a couple of minutes before they heard the front door slam open and two sets of feet run up the stairs. She looked over to the door and saw Natasha and Trip run up and halt when they reached the doorway. They looked in and Trip looked like he was about to say something before May quickly got up and shushed them. She led them down the hall so that they could talk without waking Skye up.

Natasha was still looking at Skye's doorway when she said, "Mom is she okay?"

"She will be."

Trip gave her a look, "What happened?"

She took a deep breath and hurriedly told them what had happened. She told them about Skye's father not letting her go, the policeman who had gotten shot but had luckily been wearing Kevlar so he was alright, how Calvin Zabo had been shot and had died in front of Skye. Her two kids listen raptly and when she finished, they didn't say anything.

She put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Listen guys, she's been through a lot and I don't want to overwhelm her when she wakes up, so I think it would be best if you guys waited to see her until after we've talked to her."

Natasha was about to protest but May gently squeezed her shoulder, "I know you don't want to wait but I think it would be best for Skye."

Natasha and Trip looked at each other before both of them nodded. "Thanks guys, I know this has been hard on you both."

Trip shook his head, "Not as hard as it was on Skye. I wish we could erase all of this from her memory."

May leaned in and kissed his forehead and said, "Me too sweetie."

She then leaned in and kissed Natasha's forehead before saying, "You guys have both been troopers, and I know that we can help her get-" She instantly stopped when she heard a scream come from Skye's room. Natasha and Trip looked like they wanted to go investigate, but she gave them a look and they stayed where they were before she ran into Skye's room.

* * *

Skye's own, hoarse, scream woke her up. She was happy that it did.

She had been dreaming of when Crazy Cal had been lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. In her dream, he had reached towards her like he had before and mumbled something before closing his eyes. This time though, instead of sitting still, she found herself crawling closer to his body. She leaned in close to his face and when she was about to lean back, his eyes flew open and the hand that had been reaching for her had shot up and tightly grabbed her arm. She screamed in her dream, and apparently she had in real life, because she woke herself up.

She shot up and scrambled back until she hit her head on her headboard. She grabbed the back of her head and looked around.

She was back in her room. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the uncomfortable cot in the ambulance. She looked to her right and jerked back when she saw someone sitting in a chair beside her. For a second she could swear that it was Crazy Cal, but then she looked closer and saw that it was just Phil.

He gave her a gentle smile and said, "It's okay sweetie. You're home and you're safe."

She heard footsteps getting closer and turned to the door as soon as May ran in. The older woman stopped when she saw Skye. She glanced at Phil before smiling at her and slowly walking closer.

May stopped when she got to the left side of her bed. She sat down on a chair and leaned forward a little, "Hey baby, how're you feeling?"

Skye didn't say anything. She was telling herself that it was because her throat was still a little sore, but if she was being honest with herself, it was partially because she didn't know what to say and partially because she couldn't get the words to come out of her throat.

Her silence didn't seem to faze May or Phil. She saw May's fingers twitch towards her but the older woman stopped herself, "We were so scared Skye. God, we were so _afraid_ that we wouldn't get there-" She stopped talking when Skye held her hands up.

She couldn't…she couldn't hear this. She didn't mean to make May scared. She didn't think that May _could_ get scared. She, on the other hand, got scared all the time. Saying that she was afraid didn't seem to encompass everything that she was feeling. She was afraid and angry, she felt restless and tired at the same time. She had so much going on inside of her that she couldn't even tell what each emotion was.

She felt everything bubbling up inside her though. Everything was accumulating and she had been so frightened that she would never be able to see her family again and she _still_ didn't feel safe even though she was with her mom and dad and that made her feel even worse.

She couldn't stop the tears, just like she couldn't stop the frustrated scream that escaped from her. It _hurt_ when it broke free, but it made her feel better so she screamed again. She grabbed the sheets in front of her and screamed one more time, tears were streaming down her face and her throat was raw and aching, but it helped release some of the restlessness inside of her. She took a deep breath and looked back to May.

The older woman didn't seem like she was mad at her for being so loud, she just looked concerned and sympathetic. She looked like she was going to cry and that made Skye feel guilty. When she glanced at Phil, he had the same look on his face.

He tilted his head towards her, "Did that help?"

She considered it and nodded.

He reached forward and grabbed a pillow that had fallen to the floor. He set it on the bed in front of her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Hit it."

He wanted her… to hit the pillow? Maybe she wasn't hearing him right.

He pushed the pillow a little closer to her, "You can hit it if you want. I know your throat is sore and this might help you feel better. Hit it Skye."

Skye stared at the pillow for a second before weakly punching it. She looked back to Phil and he arched an eyebrow, "I know you can do better than that."

Skye looked back to the pillow and punched it harder. It _did_ make her feel a little better. She hit it again and again and soon enough she was sobbing again and she didn't even know _why,_ there was just so much going on inside of her. She stopped punching the pillow and sagged a little.

She stared at her hands until she heard May speak up, "We're sorry Skye. We're sorry that you went through that and we're sorry that you don't feel safe anymore. We would both do _anything_ to go back and stop that from happening and-"

May was babbling. Skye had never heard her babble before, she was always so calm and collected.

Hearing May sound so afraid and unsure of herself made something in Skye break. She couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly stood up on her bed and May stopped talking. Before she could think about it, she took a step forward and leapt over to May. The older woman caught her, she always did, and Skye quickly wrapped herself around her. Her legs and arms tightened around May's waist and neck and she buried her face in the crook of her neck. She felt May wrap one arm around her back and one arm started combing through her hair. The familiar action comforted her.

She _finally_ felt safe. Wrapped up in May's arms, she finally felt like she was home and everything that had happened for the past two days didn't feel like it was going to completely overwhelm her. It was still there of course, but now she was able to push it to the back of her mind by focusing on May's flowery scent and how soft her skin was.

She pressed her face closer to May's neck and took a deep breath. The tightness in her throat loosened, the knot in her tummy started to unravel, her tears slowed down.

She twisted her head a little so that only her forehead was resting against May's shoulder. She tightened her already tight hold on the older woman and whispered, "I missed you."

She felt and heard May suck in a deep breath and when she replied, her voice cracked, "I missed you too. We all did."

She pressed her face closer to May and heard her say, "I love you. I love you so much. We both do."

They sat like that for a couple of minutes, with May whispering soothing words into her ear and pressing kisses to the top of her head, and Skye felt herself slowly relax as she listened to May's steady heartbeat. She was home. She was with her family. She was safe. She kept repeating that in her mind and it helped to comfort her.

She heard Phil speak up, "It's almost dinner time sweetie. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make your favorite? Spaghetti and meatballs."

Skye turned her head and nodded at him. He smiled at her, stood up, and made his way over to her. He stooped down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before whispering, "I love you sweetie."

She reached up and pressed a hand against his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm before walking out the door.

May continued stroking her hair, "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry. Let's get you cleaned up and then we can help Phil finish dinner okay?"

Skye nodded and May stood up and went to set her down but Skye clung to her. She didn't want to let go.

May just repositioned her and grabbed some pajamas from her dresser before walking down the hall and into the bathroom. She put the pajamas onto the counter and turned the water on. She went to set Skye down again but Skye refused to let go.

May started swaying gently and said, "It's shower time Skye."

Skye nodded but didn't move.

"Are you going to get down?"

She took a deep breath, loosened her hold on May, and let the older woman set her down. She took off her clothes and handed them to May, "I'm just going to throw everything away."

Skye stared at her boots and May noticed, "I'll get you some new ones."

Skye nodded and stepped into the shower. She quickly washed her hair and body. She periodically peeked through the curtains and checked to see if May was still there. She always was.

She finished her shower, turned the water off, and stepped out and into the towel May was holding open for her. She dried off and put on her pajamas. She turned around and let May comb through her hair. She felt ten times better now that she was clean and in _her_ clothes.

Once her hair was detangled, she turned back around and looked up at May.

She leaned down to brush Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "Feel a little better?"

Skye nodded.

"Good. Let's go to the kitchen."

May turned to walk out of the bathroom and Skye scurried after her and tightly gripped her pant leg with both hands. She felt May's hand come down and pet her head and that made her calm down a little bit.

They made their way to the kitchen, Skye practically on top of May, and she saw Phil stirring two different pots on the stovetop. May walked up to him and he grinned down at her, "Dinner's almost ready."

May pecked his cheek, "I'll set the table."

The older woman stepped away, so Skye transferred her grip from her leg to Phil's. He transferred the spoon that he was stirring with to his left hand and ran his other one over her damp hair. She kept one hand clenched tightly to his leg and raised up the other one. He set the spoon down and lifted her up and placed her on his hip. She wrapped an arm around his neck and watched May set the table behind him.

She listen to him hum a song from Tangled and it was nice even though he was off key. He moved over to the sink to strain the water from the spaghetti noodles and she heard footsteps descending the staircase. She looked over and saw Natasha and Trip approaching cautiously.

They walked into the kitchen and stood a couple of feet away from her and Phil. She stared at them and waited to see what they would do. Trip stepped forward and held something in front of him, "Here Skye. I kept them safe with me."

She reached forward and gingerly took Alice and Rapunzel away from him. She cradled the dolls to her chest. She made sure that they were okay before looking back to Trip and tugging her lips up into a half-smile. He leaned forward and ruffled her hair, "I'm happy you're back and safe."

She nodded and he grinned at her before joining May in the dining room.

She watched him leave and then turned to Natasha. They both stared at each other. She felt Phil walk back over to the stove but she didn't take her eyes off of Nattie. Was she going to say anything? Maybe she didn't feel like talking. Skye could understand that.

She watched as Natasha fidgeted from foot to foot and looked away from her. When the older girl looked back, Skye saw something she had never seen before. Natasha was crying. Tears were falling silently onto her cheeks and she didn't make a noise.

Skye wiggled around and Phil set her down. She kept her dolls in her hand and walked over to Nattie. She gave her a questioning look but her sister didn't say anything. She looked at her Rapunzel doll and smoothed out her hair before offering her to Natasha. Her dolls always helped to make her feel better, maybe they could help Nattie. Her sister looked at it for a second before taking Rapunzel from her and holding the doll against her chest. She was still crying silently.

Skye didn't know why Natasha was crying, she just knew that she didn't like seeing her upset. She wasn't sure what she could do to make it better. She thought about it for a second before taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around Nattie's waist. Hugs usually helped.

Natasha didn't move for a moment. Skye was about to pull back and pretend that that hadn't happened, but then she heard a sob escape from Natasha and felt arms wrap around her back. Natasha tugged her closer and Skye lost her footing. They ended up tumbling to the floor with Skye landing mostly on top of her sister but Natasha didn't seem to mind so Skye didn't mind either.

She leaned back a little so that she could look at Natasha's face and saw that she still had tears running down her cheeks. She lifted a hand up and wiped the tears away. Natasha gave her a wobbly smile and said, "I was so scared Skye. I missed you so much."

Natasha's words made her feel like _she_ was going to cry but she forced herself not to because she had already cried a lot today. Instead, she reached for Natasha's hand and placed it over her chest. Whenever she was upset, it made her feel better when she could feel May or Phil's heartbeat. Maybe that would help Natasha too.

It seemed to do the trick because her tears stopped and she took a deep breath. Nattie leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I love you."

She pressed a kiss to one cheek, "I love you," and then the other, "I love you," and then to her nose, "I love you."

Hearing that made her want to explode with happiness and break down and dissolve into a puddle of tears at the same time. Instead of doing either, she leaned forward wrapped herself tighter around Nattie.

"I love you too."

* * *

What'd you guys think? I know a lot of you were waiting for some hardcore cuddles but I couldn't see Skye initially reacting that way. I'm sorry if that's disappointing!

Leave a review and let me know what you thought! What do you think is gonna happen next? Also, who's excited for Jurassic World? Chris Pratt is such husband material and I'm ready for it to come out already :)

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! I hope you guys like it and thanks for all the awesome reviews for the last chapter :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Natasha stood up and offered her a hand. She gratefully took it and let her sister help her up. She watched as Nattie hastily ran a hand over her face and cleared her throat, "So uh, you need any help dad?"

Phil had been doing a pretty good job of staying out of the way and letting them have their moment, but when she turned around and looked at him, he was giving the two of them a meaningful look. He handed Natasha a bowl full of spaghetti sauce and gave Skye a bowl full of noodles, "Can you bring these into dining room please?"

Both girls nodded and set their respective bowls onto the table. Skye looked at her usual seat by Natasha. It looked like it was too far away from her mom. She glanced at the older woman and then back to her empty seat before taking a deep breath and making her way over to May.

She didn't look up to see her face, she just climbed onto May's lap and sat down. She felt arms wrap around her waist and leaned back against May's chest. Phil brought in some garlic bread and set it on the table before sitting down. Everyone reached for some food and she watched as May grabbed another fork and piled a bunch of food onto one plate. She handed the fork to Skye and motioned for her to eat off the plate. Skye guessed that they were sharing.

She was _very_ hungry. She hadn't eaten in a while and she found herself quickly shoveling food into her mouth. Her hair kept getting in the way and she continually pushed it out of her face in frustration before she saw May set her fork down and felt her gently pull her hair back and tie it into a ponytail. She made an appreciative noise and kept eating.

When she finally started to feel full, she set her fork down. Everyone else was still eating and it was unusually quiet. Skye didn't really mind. She was just happy that she was back with her family again.

She burrowed closer to May and inhaled her flowery scent. May kept one arm around her waist while the other was holding her fork. She watched the older woman twirl some spaghetti around her fork and wondered if she could teach her how to do that. She always got noodles _everywhere_.

Suddenly there was loud knocking at the door. Skye leaned further back into May and whimpered. It was really loud and she didn't like it. It made her think of the gunshots and the blood and she forced herself to think of happy things so that the bad images would go away.

Phil glanced over to them, "Were we expecting anybody?"

May shook her head and Phil motioned for them to stay there while he got up and answered the door. Skye didn't like that they didn't know who it was. She grabbed onto May's arm.

She felt May gently grab her hand and slowly pry her fingers from her arm. Skye hadn't realized that she was holding onto May so tightly. May pulled Skye's hand to her mouth and kissed the back of it before intertwining their pinkies.

She couldn't see Phil but she heard him say, "What the…what are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be in Spain!"

She watched as Natasha's eyes widened before her sister jumped away from the table and bolted to the door, Trip following closely behind her. May went to stand up and set Skye on the ground but that was _not_ something that Skye wanted to happen. She bent her legs so that they wouldn't touch the floor and May lifted her back up and set her on her hip.

They made their way into the living room just as she heard a female voice say, "Are you kidding? We got on a plane as soon as you told us what happened."

May made a surprised sound when she saw who was standing in the doorway. Natasha was wrapped around Wanda and Trip was clapping Pietro on the back. Phil was staring at the twins in confusion and disbelief. Skye thought that she probably had the same look on her face. They were supposed to be in Europe doing school stuff, not here!

They turned when they heard May and rushed towards them. Skye wasn't exactly sure _why_ they were there, she was just happy that she could finally meet them. That didn't mean that she wasn't nervous. Meeting them on the computer was different than meeting them in real life and Skye just wanted them to like her.

She wrapped an arm around May's neck and stiffened a little as Wanda and Pietro hugged May, and consequently her, as she was still in May's arms.

May's voice sounded surprised when she said, "How are you guys here? I told you that I would keep you updated on what was going on, you didn't need to fly all the way home!"

Wanda shrugged, "We talked to our advisers and told them what was happening and they said we could take the rest of the week off. We'll fly back on Saturday and meet them in Germany."

Pietro took over, "And we took a plane and a cab to get here. You didn't honestly think that we would just stand by and wait, did you?"

Skye was still a little confused and she felt May sigh, "You can't blame me for hoping."

The twins suddenly focused their attention on her and she pressed herself a little closer to May. She grabbed her moon pendant and rubbed it between her fingers.

Wanda rushed forward again and wrapped her arms around Skye. She stiffened a little but then reminded herself that this was her _sister_ and she would never hurt her. She relaxed and cautiously placed one hand on Wanda's back.

"Skye! We were so worried! Are you okay?"

Suddenly it hit her. They had come back because of her. They were here because they were worried about her. She wasn't sure how far away Spain was, but she knew that it was on a whole different continent, so it must be pretty far. They had come all that way because she had been taken. She felt like she was going to cry even as she felt warmth flood through her. She knew that the warm feeling was love.

She swallowed thickly and nodded.

Wanda pulled away and Pietro took her place. He hugged her tightly, or as tightly as he could with May slightly in the way, before stepping back and standing next to his sister.

Pietro said, "We're so happy that you're alright Skye."

Skye nodded and swallowed again. She was happy that they were here but she wished that they would stop reminding her of what happened. She was trying to forget it.

Pietro seemed to sense that because he changed the subject, "You're wearing the necklace! Do you like it?"

Skye let go of the pendant. The metal was now warm from her rubbing it for so long. She tilted her head down and looked at the beautiful necklace. They must not have gotten her letter yet, so they didn't know how much she loved with pendant. She didn't _just_ like it, "I love it."

Wanda and Pietro smiled widely at her, "It looks lovely on you Skye. I'm happy you like it," Wanda paused before looking around, "were we interrupting something?"

Phil walked up and stood next to them, "We were just finishing dinner. There's some left over if you're hungry," he motioned towards their bags, "I'll put these in the guest room. Wanda, you mind sleeping with Nat? I haven't gotten around to putting two beds in there since Skye moved in."

Wanda shook her head and put an arm around Natasha's shoulder, "Nope, it'll give us a chance to catch up." Nattie grinned and pulled her into the dining room. Everyone else followed and May sat down with Skye in her lap again. She watched as Wanda and Pietro grabbed a plate and started eating. They talked with everyone and Skye was content to just watch everything go on around her.

She was happy that Wanda and Pietro were here. She could finally talk to them and play with them. She thought about how she wanted to play with them on the swings at the playground and her happiness dimmed a little. If she went to the playground with Wanda and Pietro, May or Phil wouldn't be there with her. She didn't want to go anywhere without them. The thought of being away from them was distressing and she didn't even realize that she was squeezing May's arm until she felt the older woman gently wrap her hand around Skye's.

She blushed a little and yanked her arm back. May pressed a kiss to the top of her head and it made her feel better. She watched as everyone shared a mysterious look and Skye didn't know what that look meant but it made her feel weird. What were they thinking?

Natasha spoke up, "You want to go play in the playroom Skye? We can watch Tangled and color."

Pietro spoke up, "I love coloring."

Wanda nodded, "and I love Tangled."

That sounded really fun but she looked over to Phil and then up at May. "Um…I don't know…"

May ran a hand over her hair, "Phil and I can go play too."

At that Skye nodded. May didn't even bother trying to set her on the ground again, she just placed her on her hip and led everyone up to the playroom.

* * *

Natasha watched as Skye clung to her mom. She had been hanging off of either her or her dad for the whole night. Natasha couldn't blame her. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew that if _she_ had been kidnapped, she would be doing to same thing.

They walked into the playroom and everyone sat on the ground while she put Tangled into the DVD player and turned everything on. She hoped that Skye's favorite movie would help make her feel a little better. Once the movie started playing, she turned back around and grabbed a bunch of crayons, paper, markers and coloring books. She sat down next to Wanda and her dad and placed everything in front of her. They were all sitting in a fairly loose circle and everyone reached forward to grab some supplies.

She grabbed a white sheet of paper and a pencil. She knew she was a pretty good artist so she decided to draw something for Skye. After a minute or two, she heard her mom announce, "I'm going to grab some water, anyone else want some?"

Pietro and Trip raised their hands and she watched as the older woman gently pushed Skye off of her lap and kissed the side of the little girl's head before standing up. Skye immediately crawled over to her dad and clambered into his lap. Her dad shifted so that he was sitting cross-legged and Skye settled more comfortably against him.

Natasha noticed that Skye wasn't coloring anything. She grabbed the Spongebob coloring book and a box of crayons and handed them to her. Skye stared at them for a little bit before taking everything from her and setting them on the ground in front of her. She pulled out a crayon and started to absentmindedly color in Squidward. Natasha felt her heart ache. She knew that Skye would be different after everything she went through, she _knew_ that, but it still hurt her to see Skye acting so distant and cautious. She wanted the little girl to know that they were here for her. That they were here to help her feel safe again and she wanted her to know that she was loved. She knew that it could take a while, but she was determined to make that happen.

* * *

Everyone else had stopped coloring twenty minutes ago but Skye saw that Natasha was still focused on her drawing. The rest of them were watching Tangled for the second time. She was sitting in Phil's lap and he was gently swaying them as they watched the movie.

Whenever a song would come on, Wanda would lean towards her and sing it dramatically. That's what was happening right now. Wanda was using a blue marker for a microphone and was singing passionately to Skye. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Wanda had a really good voice.

The older girl stood up and started making dramatic hand gestures. Wanda fixed her gaze on Natasha and she watched as the red-head shook her head, "No. Wanda, no!"

Wanda didn't listen. She leaned over to Natasha and held out the marker. She saw Natasha glance over to her before her sister sighed, stood up, took the marker from Wanda, and started using it as a microphone as she sang. Wanda smiled, grabbed a red marker, and sang along with Nattie.

She felt her lips tug up further as she watched them sing together. They looked silly and Natasha's raspier voice harmonized with Wanda's clear voice in a pretty way. The song was over too soon and Skye found herself excited for the next one to come on so that she could hear them sing again.

She didn't know when it happened, but suddenly she was being gently shaken awake. She didn't remember falling asleep. She opened her eyes and saw that the movie was nearing an end. May and Phil were both looking at her while everyone else was still watching the movie.

May leaned over and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "Bedtime sweetie."

She shook her head, "I don't want to go to sleep."

She _didn't_. Wanda and Pietro were here and she wanted to spend as much time as possible with them, plus she was back with her family and she just wanted to be around them. If she was being honest though, the main reason she didn't want to go to sleep was because of the nightmares she knew were waiting for her. She didn't want to close her eyes because she knew that there were bad things in her brain that were waiting for her to fall asleep so that they could attack.

Phil gently tapped her knee, "How about we just read you some stories instead? I know everyone else is pretty tired and they're ready to go to bed."

Skye didn't see the pointed look that Phil gave everyone else, all she saw was Pietro yawn loudly and stretch his arms over his head, "Oh yeah, I'm beat."

Natasha nodded, "So tired."

Trip agreed, "Can barely keep my eyes open."

Wanda rubbed her eyes, "Jeez, how late is it? I'm usually asleep by now."

Oh. She didn't want everyone else to stay awake just because she didn't want to fall asleep. She nodded at Phil.

He smiled down at her, "Okay, everyone say goodnight."

Phil stood up and lifted Skye with him and this time she let him set her on the ground. Trip got up and gave her a hug, "G'night Skye. Sleep tight." She hugged him back and watched him walk out the door.

Wanda was next and she kneeled down so that they could see eye-to-eye, "Goodnight Skye. Maybe tomorrow we can hang out some more and get to know each other a little better?" Skye nodded and watched as Wanda smiled at her. She was pretty. Wanda leaned in and gave her a hug and Skye didn't even think about it before hugging her back.

Wanda stood up and Pietro took her place, "Nighty night little one. I hope you have magical dreams full of princesses and ice cream." She hoped for that too. She grinned at him and gave him a quick hug.

The twins smiled at her before exiting the room. Natasha stood in front of her and held out her pinky. Skye reached out and wrapped hers around her sisters. "I drew something for you маленькая звезда." She held up a piece of paper and Skye took it from her. She sucked in a breath when she saw what was on it.

It looked like a picture, not a drawing. She knew that Natasha was good at drawing, but she didn't know that she was _this_ good. It was of her playing with Alice. She was kneeling on the floor in her room, in front of her dollhouse, with Alice in her hand. She was wearing her moon necklace and had on the outfit that she had worn to Nattie's dance recital. It was drawn in pencil and it looked so r _eal._ It had shadows and everything!

She stared at it for a minute and then gingerly held it to her chest, making sure that she didn't wrinkle it in the process. She looked back up to Natasha. The older girl was fidgeting and looked like she was nervous.

"So, uh, do you like it?"

How could she not like it? It was amazing. She wanted to hang it on her wall and look at it every day. She didn't know if words would properly express what she was feeling, they usually never did, so she rushed forward and hugged her sister instead. She made sure that her drawing was safe before squishing her face against Natasha's stomach. She felt arms wrap around her, "I'll take that as a yes."

Skye nodded and pressed closer to her.

Natasha stepped out of the embrace and untangled their pinkies, "Night Skye. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." She blew her a kiss before walking out the door and to her room.

May walked over to her, "Let's go kiddo."

She reached up and May picked her up. She rested her head on May's shoulder and watched Phil walk behind them to her room. When they walked in, Skye looked around. It looked too big. Too empty. Too lonely. She didn't want to sleep in here by herself.

May tried to set her down on her bed but Skye clung to her. It was becoming a routine for them.

May rubbed her back, "It's time to go to sleep Skye."

She knew that, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

She shook her head, "I don't want to sleep."

Phil spoke up from behind them, "You have to go to sleep sweetie."

Skye shook her head again. They didn't get it. They didn't _understand_. Skye didn't even fully understand, she just knew that if she closed her eyes, she would see bad things. She _knew_ it.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and couldn't stop them from falling. They didn't understand and she _needed_ them to understand.

"No! I don't want to go to sleep! I don't want to see it!" She pressed her face against May's neck and didn't try to stop her tears.

She felt May rub her back and make soothing noises, "Okay, you don't have to go to sleep. We could still read you some stories though, right?"

Skye thought about it and nodded. She missed them reading to her. She lifted her head and took a breath, "Can…can we go in your room?"

She saw Phil walk up to her and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Of course we can sweetie." She handed him her new picture and he walked over to her shelf, set it down, and grabbed a bunch of books before leading them out of her room and into theirs.

This time when May went to set her down, she let go and flopped onto the bed. She scooted back and pulled the covers over her legs. May grabbed some clothes and disappeared back down the hallway while Phil sat down on the bed, "Let's see what we've got here."

He spread the books out onto the bed. He considered them for a minute before looking to Skye, "We've got some good material here. I'm partial to Stella Luna, but the choice is all yours."

She looked at the books and point to The Lorax, "Dr. Suess please."

Phil nodded seriously, "Excellent choice."

She grinned. Phil situated himself so that he was sitting next to Skye and leaning against the headboard. He picked up the book, but before he opened it, he looked over to her, "Skye?"

"Mhm?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, "You know I love you right?"

She snuggled closer to him, "I know daddy."

It felt right to call Phil her dad. She found herself remembering what Crazy Cal had said to her, about him being her dad, and she thought that that might have been true. He _could've_ been her father, he certainly seemed to think so, but she didn't think that he knew the first thing about being a dad. Not like Phil did. Phil didn't do bad things, or make her do things she didn't want to, or scare her.

Thinking about Crazy Cal made a knot form in her tummy so she forced herself to stop before it got worse.

Phil kissed the top of her head and grinned at her, "Do you want to know how much?"

Skye looked up at him and nodded, "I love you higher than the sky and more than all the water in the ocean."

Skye peered up at him, "And more than chocolate chip cookies?"

"Waaayy more than chocolate chip cookies, and I love those a _lot_."

Skye hunkered back down and pulled the covers a little further up her legs, "I love you too."

Phil smiled, "How about we start this story up? I haven't read it in awhile and it's one of my favorites."

She nodded and Phil opened up the book and started reading. They only got one sentence in before May wandered back in, wearing her pajamas and holding Alice in her hand. She sat on Skye's other side and handed Alice to her. She gratefully took the doll and cradled it in her arms.

Phil made sure that she was comfortable before picking up where he left off. Skye made it through three and a half stories before she eventually nodded off.

* * *

The first time Skye jerked awake from a nightmare, May and Phil were both awake and sitting next to her. May was reading a book and Phil was going over some papers. They both dropped what they were doing and turned to comfort her. It took a solid thirty minutes before she calmed down enough to lie back down and fall asleep cuddled against May.

* * *

The second time she pulled herself out of a nightmare and gasped awake, the lights were off and she ended up waking May and Phil. This one was worse than the one before and she practically chocked Phil when she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He didn't seem to mind; he just whispered soothing words in her ear and rubbed her back comfortingly.

May turned the lamp on, and when Skye calmed down a little bit, started reading her Goodnight Moon. Skye was afraid to close her eyes again, but eventually it happened even though she fought against it.

* * *

The third time it happened, she bolted up and gasped for breath. May and Phil didn't wake up, but she heard a noise come from the floor on May's side of the bed.

When she caught her breath, she leaned over and saw that Natasha was curled up in blankets and resting on the carpet. The redhead was rubbing her eyes and blearily looking up at her.

Skye glanced around and saw a pair of feet sticking out on the floor by the end of the bed. She made sure that May and Phil were still sleeping before slowly crawling to the end of the bed and looking over it. Trip had a pillow over his head and a blanket tangled between his legs. He looked kind of silly.

She heard faint snoring coming from Phil's side of the bed and looked back to him. She got close to his face but the sound wasn't coming from him. She peered over _his_ side of the bed and saw Wanda and Pietro there. Pietro's arm was thrown over Wanda's face and she had tugged Pietro's blanket off of him and was wrapped snugly between two blankets.

Natasha poked her head up and looked at her. Her voice was raspier than normal, "You okay?"

Skye shrugged. Nattie gave her a look and hauled herself onto the bed. She put a finger to her lips so that Natasha would know to be quiet. She had already woken Phil and May up more than she wanted to. She felt bad.

Natasha nodded at her and slowly climbed closer to her. She tugged on Skye so that she would lie back down. She situated herself back between May and Phil and Natasha lied down next to May and pulled Skye close to her, "Go back to sleep маленькая звезда. I'll try to chase your nightmares away."

She fell back asleep to the feeling of Natasha gently stroking her hair, and this time, she stayed asleep.

* * *

What'd you guys think? There's no _way_ Wanda and Pietro would stay in Europe when their little sister was missing!

You guys have been leaving some really awesome and super nice reviews and I love them all! I just want all the Guest's who leave reviews to know that I really appreciate them and wish I could respond back to you guys! If you want to submit a prompt or just say hi, you can do so on my tumblr page! Thanks for reading :) xx -Ariel


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and I hope you guys like it!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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Skye opened her eyes and felt disoriented. She didn't _feel_ like she was on a mattress. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked around. Somehow, she had ended up on top of May _and_ Natasha. Her upper body was snuggled on top of May's chest and her legs were tangled between Nattie's, so she was lying diagonally across both of them with Alice in her hand. Everyone was still asleep except for Phil. He was gone and Trip had taken his place. He was cuddling a pillow to his chest and was curled into a tight ball.

It was very quiet except for the occasional soft snore coming from Trip or Pietro. She kind of wanted to get up and go see Phil but she didn't want to walk all the way there by herself. It was too far.

She laid her head back down on May's chest and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. When she closed her eyes, she saw things she didn't like. She quickly opened her eyes back up and took a deep breath. She reminded herself that she was safe, she was with her family, nothing bad was going to happen.

She slowly untangled her legs from Natasha's, making sure not to wake the older girl, and settled herself so that she was completely on top of May. She studied her. One arm was thrown over her head and the other was hanging off the side of the bed. Her mouth was slightly open and Skye could see her eyes moving behind her closed eyelids. Did that mean she was having a bad dream? Or did that happen when you were dreaming about good things too?

She gently rose and fell with each of May's breaths as she considered that. She decided to stay on the safe side and wake May up just in case she _was_ having a bad dream. Skye wished that someone would wake her up whenever she was having a nightmare and she didn't want May to be scared.

She reached up and poked May on the cheek. Nothing happened so she poked her again, this time a little harder. She watched as May slowly woke up. Her eyelids fluttered and she scrunched up her nose before finally opening her eyes and looking around.

Skye leaned in close and whispered, "Were you having a bad dream?"

May focused on her, "I don't think so."

Now Skye felt guilty. She felt herself blush and she looked down, "Sorry."

May reached up and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "No problem sweetie. Now I get to spend more time with you."

That made Skye feel better about waking her up, "Can we go downstairs?"

May carefully sat up and Skye ended up in her lap. They both looked around the room and took everything in. Wanda and Pietro were still on the floor. Pietro had stolen his blanket back and was lying on his stomach. Wanda's head was on the floor rather than her pillow and her hair was covering most of her face. Trip was still curled into a tight ball on Phil's side of the bed and Skye watched as Nattie rolled over and accidentally kicked his shin. Trip made an annoyed sound and curled into an even tighter ball.

May looked at her, "I didn't know we were having a sleepover."

Skye shrugged. It felt nice having everyone in one place.

May eased carefully off the bed and stood up. She walked over to Wanda and gently put her pillow under her head and fixed everyone's blankets so that they were covered properly. She came back over to Skye and leaned in close, "Did you sleep alright?"

Skye shrugged again and tried not to think of her nightmares. They made her tummy feel uneasy. "Can we go downstairs?"

May pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Sure sweetie, let's go find Phil."

Skye nodded, tightened her grip on Alice, and reached up. May picked her up and she wrapped herself around the older woman. She rested her head on May's shoulder and they both went downstairs. She could hear Phil singing softly and off key and it made her grin a little. She didn't have to look up to know that he would be in the kitchen making breakfast.

She was right. He was leaning over a griddle, flipping pancakes and wearing his flowery apron. May walked up to him and he kissed her cheek before turning to Skye and smiling at her, "You sleep okay?"

Skye shrugged again and forced herself to focus on the smell of pancakes rather than her nightmares.

Phil exchanged a look with May before leaning in to kiss her forehead.

May jostled her a little bit so that she could get Skye's attention, "So, we called Jiaying last night and she said that she could come over later and talk to you, is that okay?"

Skye thought about it. She liked Jay. She was pretty and liked Skye's dolls and didn't make her talk about things she didn't want to. She didn't mind if she came over, "Okay."

May grinned down at her, "Great, she'll come over around six tonight. You guys can talk in your room again if you want."

Skye nodded absentmindedly and put her head back on May's shoulder. May swayed gently back and forth for a couple of minutes. She listened to Phil sing his song and grinned a little when his voice cracked over some of the words.

May stroked her hair, "I've got to take a shower. It's better to grab one before everyone else wakes up and steals the hot water."

May pressed a kiss to the top of her head and tried to set her down. Skye did _not_ want that to happen. She pressed herself closer to May and refused to be put on the ground, "No! Don't leave me mommy."

May made a surprised sound and she felt the older woman wrap her arms around her in a hug, "Skye, I'm not leaving you, I'll _never_ leave you. You know that right? I'm just going to take a shower and then I'll be right back."

Skye gripped her tighter. She didn't want May to leave her. She wanted to stay with her forever and the thought of her being away made a knot form in her tummy.

May stroked her hair, "Why don't you help Phil with the pancakes?" She leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "They always taste better when you help. Don't tell him I said that."

She heard Phil speak up, "What was that?"

"Nothing babe."

Skye reluctantly nodded and leaned back so that she and May were face to face, "Okay."

May smiled gently at her, "Good girl. I love you Skye. So much. To the moon and back-"

Skye finished for her, like she always did, "More than all the stars in the sky."

May leaned forward and rubbed their noses together, "Always."

She nodded and turned so that Phil could reach over and grab her. He placed her on his hip and handed her the spatula. She held Alice in her left hand and the spatula in her right. She watched as May walked back up the stairs and an empty feeling took root in her chest. She didn't like being so far away from May.

Phil caught her attention, "How about we put some chocolate chips in these bad boys? What do you say sweetie?"

Skye nodded and reached over to carefully set Alice down on the counter so that she could hold the bag of chocolate chips that Phil offered her. He poured the batter and she carefully placed the chips on the pancakes and then helped him flip them. Phil kept singing as they cooked and when they finished, he turned the griddle off and put the dirty dishes in the sink.

He was humming a slow song and he looked at her and held out a hand. She stared at it and gave him a questioning look. Did he want a high five? He shook his hand a little and that prompted Skye to place her hand in his. He smiled at her and then started dancing around the kitchen. She was pretty sure that Phil was making up the song as he went, but it was nice and it made the empty feeling in her chest vanish a little bit. He spun them around and even managed to lower her a little so that it looked like she was being dipped.

Once Phil finished his song he looked over to her, "Skye, you are a fantastic dancer. You should teach a class."

Skye gave him a look, "I didn't do anything daddy, you were the one dancing."

Phil shook his head, "It's all about the lead partner and you are an excellent leader. You should teach Trip how to slow dance. That kid has two left feet."

Skye wasn't sure what that meant, people had a left foot and a right foot, not two of one, but she assumed that it wasn't good. She shrugged and Phil leaned in to kiss her forehead before grabbing the plate of pancakes and putting tin-foil over it to keep them warm.

He placed a frying pan on the stove top and Skye held on to him as he leaned forward and grabbed bacon out of the fridge. He turned to her, "Let's see how fast everyone gets down here when they smell bacon."

Skye nodded at him and watched as he placed strips of bacon into the pan. She heard footsteps on the staircase and Phil gave her a surprised look, "That was faster than I thought."

She glanced over his shoulder and saw May walking towards them, "Smells good guys."

Phil glanced at her and grinned, "We're waiting to see who wanders down here first."

It was Pietro. His light hair was sticking up in every direction and he looked like he was still half asleep. He grunted out a good morning before grabbing some orange juice and collapsing into a chair at the table.

Natasha was next. She looked more awake than Pietro did as she made her way into the kitchen and kissed her parents on the cheeks before standing on her toes and kissing Skye's cheek. She grabbed a bottle of water and made her way into the dining room.

Wanda was next. She _skipped_ down the stairs and she looked utterly awake and refreshed. She happily said good morning to everyone. May and Phil hugged her, Skye waved, Natasha threw her a dirty look and Pietro grunted in her general direction.

Trip was the last one to make his way down the staircase. Phil had already finished making the bacon and was setting everything on the table. Skye was still in his arms and she was holding the plate full of pancakes. She carefully set the plate on the middle of the table and Phil sat down and settled Skye on his lap. She was glad that he didn't try to make her move.

Phil handed her a plate with a chocolate chip pancake and some bacon on it. He scooted the maple syrup over to her and she grabbed it and poured some over her plate. Everyone else was grabbing their food and she passed the syrup over to Pietro. He smiled and took it from her.

She looked at her plate full of food, picked up her fork, and tried to cut a piece of pancake without getting her hands all sticky. She lifted the fork to her mouth but before she bit into it, her stomach rolled. She ignored it because she loved chocolate chip pancakes. She placed the food in her mouth and started chewing.

She couldn't swallow it. Her stomach felt like it was too full even though she hadn't eaten since dinner and the pancake felt weird in her mouth. She chewed on it until she couldn't anymore and then forced herself to swallow it.

She set her fork down. There was no way she could eat anymore.

May gave her a worried look, "You want something else?"

Skye shook her head and leaned back against Phil, "M'not hungry."

Phil gently tapped her knee, "You need to eat sweetie. How about an apple?"

She shook her head. The thought of eating anything made her stomach feel a little queasy.

Phil pushed her glass of orange juice in front of her, "Why don't you drink this now so that your tummy isn't completely empty. You might be hungry a little later."

Skye stared at her glass and reluctantly nodded. She grabbed it and held it up to her lips before forcing herself to drink a few sips. She looked up and saw that everyone was staring at her with worried looks on their faces so she made herself give them a smile before setting the glass back down.

May was still looking at her, "When you start to feel hungry, you tell us okay? We'll make you something."

Skye nodded and started playing with the hand that Phil wasn't using to eat with. The conversation started back up and Skye listened contentedly before realizing that today was Wednesday. It was a school day and she should be in school right now. Plus, she was supposed to go see Ward today.

She straightened up and looked at Phil, "It's a school day."

He looked down at her, "Don't worry, it's okay that you're not in school right now. We called them and took care of everything. You won't have to go back until you're ready."

Skye nodded. She _really_ didn't want to go back. She just wanted to stay here forever and ever and never leave.

She looked over to Natasha and Trip, who were both shoveling bacon into their mouths, and said, "What about them?"

Phil leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "They're good too."

She nodded again, "Am I still going to see Ward today?"

She saw Phil glance over to May and this time, she answered, "I don't think so sweetie, unless you really want to. How about we reschedule it for later this week?"

Skye let out a breath, "Okay."

May smiled at her and everyone went back to eating. Except for Skye. The thought of eating food made her feel sick.

Pietro spoke around a mouthful of food, "What do you wanna do today Skye?"

She shrugged.

Pietro swallowed and grinned at her, "You ever play Monopoly?"

Everyone else at the table groaned and Skye sat up straighter, "No, what's that?"

That was how they ended up on the playroom floor, Monopoly money all over the place, and Trip throwing all of them dirty looks. He huffed and glared at them, "You guys are ganging up on me, aren't you?"

From May's lap, Skye spoke up, "No Trip, I promise."

He looked at her and gave her a look that clearly said he was unconvinced, "Are you sure?"

She nodded. She wasn't really sure how to play this game, she mainly just handed Pietro one dollar bills and he handed her houses to put on the board, but she was pretty sure she wasn't ganging up on Trip.

He blew out a breath, "Okay, then I must just be really bad at this."

Natasha elbowed him in the stomach, "Tell us something we don't know."

Trip rolled his eyes and Skye felt her lips tug up and into a half-smile. This game was confusing, but Pietro liked it and everyone else seemed to be having fun, so she was enjoying herself. She liked everyone being here.

The game went on forever. They didn't even finish it, they just called it a draw. Pietro insisted that he would have won if they would've finished the game properly and Trip was disagreeing, saying that since Pietro was the banker, he had more access to the money and was more likely to be cheating. It was funny to watch.

She, Wanda and May were picking up the pieces of the game and putting them back in the box. They stuffed everything in there and May handed Wanda the box so that she could set it on the game shelf. She looked back over to Trip and Pietro and they were play-wrestling on the ground. Natasha was reaching down to tickle Pietro and he gave her a betrayed look before Nattie started laughing.

Skye felt herself start to smile before she heard a loud crashing noise.

She heard Wanda say, "Oops. Sorry guys."

She suddenly felt like she was back in that house with Crazy Cal standing in front of her, the big men in black pointing guns at him. She started breathing really quickly and she felt her heartbeat speed up. Blood started rushing through her ears and she couldn't hear anything. She saw everything happen again in slow motion: Crazy Cal falling backwards, him reaching towards her, his blood spreading slowly on the carpet surrounding her. There was so much blood.

She whimpered, put her hands on her head, and started rocking back and forth in May's lap. She tried to push the images out of her head.

It wasn't working. She was having trouble catching her breath and she felt her throat start to close up.

She heard someone say her name but it sounded like it was coming from far away. She forced herself to focus on it and she slowly became semi-aware of what was going on around her. She was still in May's lap except now the older woman had turned her around so that she was facing her. She was speaking softly, "Skye, it's okay sweetie. Wanda just dropped the board game. It's okay, come back to us Skye. It's alright."

May kept repeating that over and over and Skye focused on her gentle voice. The images finally started to fade from her mind and she zeroed in on May's face. The older woman carefully lifted up Skye's hand and placed it over her chest. She could feel May's heart beating strongly against her palm. She matched her breathing with May's and was finally able to get enough oxygen into her lungs.

Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. A sob ripped out of her and she threw her arms May's neck.

She felt hands combing through her hair and it made her feel better.

"What's wrong with me?"

The hands paused and then moved away from her hair. She felt May gently grab the sides of her face and prompt her to look up. She obliged and stared up at her.

May brushed tears off of her cheek, "There's _nothing_ wrong with you Skye. You've been through a lot and it's okay to react this way. I _promise_ , there's nothing wrong with you."

Skye didn't think that she believed her. She didn't think it was normal to totally freak out because your sister dropped a stupid board game on the floor.

She felt May lean in and kissed her forehead, "It's okay sweetie, you're okay."

She just nodded and pressed herself back against May. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Skye sniffled, straightened up, and looked around. Everyone else had left the room and that made Skye feel a little better because she didn't want her family to think that she was weird or a problem.

May stood up and kept Skye in her arms. She walked out of the playroom and into the bathroom. Skye kept her face pressed against the crook of May's neck and felt the older woman gently tap her shoulder. She looked up and saw that May was holding a wet washcloth. She let her wipe the tears off of her face and that made her feel a lot better.

May pushed Skye's hair back and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Better?"

Skye nodded. May opened up her arms and Skye leaned forward and hugged her.

"There's nothing wrong with you Skye. A lot has happened and there are a lot of things that we need to work through, but we're here for you and Jay will be here to help you and we can get through it together. I love you sweetie."

Skye sniffled and said in a wobbly voice, "I love you too."

May leaned back and smiled at her, "How about we go get some lunch? You must be hungry, you didn't eat breakfast."

Skye nodded. She _did_ feel hungry and she wanted to go see everyone.

They made their way into the kitchen. Everyone else was already in there. Phil looked over to them, "We're making lunch guys, you're just in time."

And that was it. No one said anything about what happened and Skye was eternally grateful. She saw Phil give May a look, to which May just nodded at him. He nodded back and then looked at her, "You ever make macaroni and cheese before?"

She shook her head and he grinned at her, "Wanda's a pro at it-"

Pietro interrupted him, "Yeah, it's what we live off of."

Phil sighed and continued, "You wanna help her out?"

She nodded and went over to Wanda, who was standing by the stove-top. She passed Nattie and Pietro, who were cutting up fruit and putting it into a bowl, and Trip and Phil, who were tag-teaming making sandwiches. Wanda smiled down at her, "Hey little one. Let me teach you the ways of the ancient craft of macaroni and cheese making."

Skye grinned up at her and stood on her tip toes so that she could peer over the counter. It wasn't really working. Even on tip toes, her head barely cleared the top of the counter. She hopped up and down and she heard Wanda laugh and reach down, "May I?"

Skye considered it, shrugged, and lifted her arms up. Wanda picked her up and set her on the counter by the stove-top.

"Be careful, it's hot over here."

Skye nodded and made sure that she didn't lean over to stove-top. Wanda moved to pot over so that it was closer to Skye and she peered into it. There were noodles in the boiling water. Wanda handed her a wooden spoon, "You wanna stir this?"

Skye nodded and took the spoon from her before carefully stirring the noodles.

Wanda nodded in appreciation, "I'd say we've got another minute or two before they're done." She focused in one Skye, "So little sis, what do you like to do for fun?"

Skye was a little surprised by the question but considered it seriously, "I like to play with my dollies and color and watch Spongebob."

Wanda leaned closer, "That's interesting. I, personally, love watching Spongebob and I have to say that Squidward is my favorite."

Skye shook her head in disbelief, "What? But he's so grumpy all the time!"

Wanda considered that and smiled, "Yeah, but I think that he's funny. Who's your favorite?"

They considered the pros and cons of each character as they finished making their part of lunch. They joined everyone at the table and this time she climbed onto Wanda's lap before May handed her a plate full of food.

She was hungry. Her tummy felt empty and she regretted not eating breakfast, so she was excited to dig in. She picked up her fork and scooped up some macaroni and cheese. As soon as she brought it up to her mouth, she started to feel nauseous. She wasn't hungry anymore.

She set her fork down and reached for her glass of water instead. Wanda was reaching around her and grabbing some fruit off of her plate, so she made sure to be careful when she brought her glass to her lips. She took some sips of water and put it back.

She stared at her full plate and then looked back up to everyone. Natasha was talking about Clint to Phil and he was laughing at the story she was telling him. Wanda and Pietro were telling Trip and May about their last research trip and she focused on that. After a couple of minutes, May noticed that she wasn't eating.

She gave Skye a questioning look and Skye just shrugged. She didn't know why she couldn't eat. May crooked a finger at her and obviously wanted her to go over there.

She slid off of Wanda's lap and walked over to May. The older woman picked her up and set her on her lap before leaning in close and whispering, "Why aren't you eating sweetie?"

Skye whispered back, "I can't."

May gave her a puzzled look, "Why can't you?"

"I don't know I just can't. My tummy won't let me."

May started to look worried and that made her feel a little bad. May scooted the fruit bowl closer, "Can you try to eat a little bit?"

Skye made a face at the fruit. She didn't think she could do it.

May brushed her lips over her forehead, "You really need to eat something sweetie. Can you try? For me?"

She could try for May. She picked up a strawberry and placed it in her mouth. She chewed it, and even though the thought of swallowing it made her feel sick, she did it. The smile May gave her was worth.

She leaned back against the older woman and listened to the conversations going on around her. May would occasionally push a piece of fruit her way and she would force herself to eat it even though her tummy protested the whole time.

They finished lunch and Wanda looked over to her, "Spongebob's usually on right now Skye. Want to watch it with me?"

Skye nodded and slid off of May's lap before tugging on her hand. Once she made sure that May was following her, she grabbed onto Wanda's hand and wandered into the living room.

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What'd you guys think? Poor lil Skye, hopefully Jiaying will be able to help. Tell me what you thought! What do you want to see happen in the next few chapters?

If you guys want to submit a prompt for the one-shot collection, or if you just want to say hi (I love talking to you guys :P), you can do that on my tumblr page!

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey guys! This chapter is a little longer because I'm going on a mini-vacation with my best friend this weekend and don't know if I'll be near my laptop for the next two or three days. I'll bring it just in case I have some down time though! I'm sorry!**

 **Also, here's a little disclaimer for Skye's therapy session: I have no idea how to handle therapy for a 6 year old with PTSD. I watched a lot of videos and read a bunch of articles but I don't think it turned out how a normal session would. I used the info I gathered, plus personal experience with therapy, to write it out. I'm an Exercise Science major, so I've only taken one pych class and am I'm _very_ unaware as to how it would work. Sorry if it doesn't seem super realistic guys! If you have any suggestions, let me know!**

 **Thanks for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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When they made it to the living room, they found that Spongebob wasn't on so they all watched Frozen instead. She was snuggled between Phil and Wanda on the couch. May was to the right of Phil and Pietro was lounging on a chair. Trip was lying on the floor and Nattie was sitting cross-legged and leaning back against the couch directly in front of Skye. She would periodically tickle her feet and Skye would react by curling them up under her before stretching them back out a couple minutes later, only for Natasha to repeat the whole thing.

Halfway through the movie Natasha looked back at them, "Is it okay if Clint, Steve, and Bucky come over? They want to see Skye."

Skye looked over to May and saw the older women think it over, "Only for an hour or two. Jiaying will be here soon and I don't want there to be too many distractions. And only if it's alright with Skye."

Nattie turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

Skye thought about it. She liked Nattie's friends. They were nice to her and sometimes they called her a princess. She nodded at Natasha and the older girl smiled at her before taking her phone out and tapping the screen.

Skye looked over to Phil and stretched upwards. She whispered so that she wouldn't interrupt the movie, "I left Alice in the kitchen. Can we got get her?"

Phil looked down at her, "You can go grab her sweetie, I'll pause the movie for you."

She didn't think Phil understood what she was saying. She didn't want to go into the kitchen by herself. When it became clear that Phil wasn't catching on, she peered into the kitchen. It looked dark and empty. She swallowed and sat back, "I'll just wait."

Phil gave her a strange look but didn't question it. She felt Wanda shift next to her, "I was going to go get some water, I can grab her for you Skye."

Skye turned her head and gave Wanda and grateful look. Wanda smiled back at her, stood up, and made her way into the kitchen. She came back with a glass of water in one hand and Alice in the other. She sat down and handed Alice to Skye.

"Thanks Wanda," She took the doll from her and held Alice to her chest. Wanda just put her arm around Skye's shoulder and the little girl leaned into her.

By the time the doorbell rang, Frozen was over and they moved on to watching Lilo and Stitch, per Skye's request. Phil paused the movie and Natasha jumped up to answer the door.

She braced herself for the loud voices that usually came with Nattie's friends coming over, but they never came. She watched as Clint, then Steve, then Bucky silently filed into the house. Bucky said something to Nattie and she motioned towards the living room.

Clint walked in first and Skye watched as his eyes landed on Pietro, "No one told me the circus was in town."

Pietro smirked at him, "Nice to see you too _Clinton_."

Clint rolled his eyes and then he spotted her on the couch, "Hey princess."

She waved to him and then Bucky spoke up, "Hey Skye, what're you guys doing today?"

Skye pointed to the t.v. screen, "We're watching Lilo and Stitch. You just missed Frozen, Bucky."

She watched as Bucky lightly hit Steve in the stomach, "You hear that pal? We just missed your favorite movie."

Steve hit him back before saying, "Is it okay if we watch it with you?"

Skye nodded enthusiastically. Steve smiled at her and they all sat themselves down on the floor by Nattie.

Clint turned back to look at them, "Wanda, quit hogging Skye over there. Will you come sit with us Skye?"

She looked over to Wanda and saw that she was smiling, "Hey, she's _my_ sister, I can hog her if I want to."

Wanda leaned forward and whispered to her, "This couch is too comfy anyways. Let's move this party to the floor."

Skye was happy she said that because she didn't want to make Wanda feel bad if she went to sit on the floor, and she didn't want Clint to feel bad if she stayed with Wanda.

They both stood up and Skye sat down between Nattie and Bucky while Wanda sat on Nattie's other side. She leaned back against Phil's legs and she felt him run his hand over the top of her head.

They watched the movie and after a little bit, Skye lost interest and looked around the room instead. Rather than feeling crowded, the room felt cozy with ten people inside it. She looked back and saw May leaning on Phil's shoulder. Pietro was still lounging on the chair and Trip had moved onto the couch. Clint and Steve were lying on their backs and facing the t.v. screen and Natasha and Wanda were whispering to each other every couple of minutes. She looked over to Bucky and saw that he was already looking back at her. She jumped in surprise and he grinned at her.

He leaned close and whispered, "Are you okay little princess?"

She thought about it. Right now she felt okay. She felt comfortable and safe with her family and friends around her. She didn't feel okay when she thought about anything that had happened in the past few days, or when she was about to be left alone, or when something reminded her of Crazy Cal. She wasn't really sure how to answer that, so she shrugged.

She was expecting to see the worried look that everyone had started wearing around her on Bucky's face, but it wasn't there. Instead, he had this look in his eyes that made her feel like he just _understood_ how she was feeling right now.

He whispered to her, "You will be. I know you will."

Skye scrunched her nose up, "How do you know that?"

Bucky grinned at her, "I just do."

Skye gave him a doubtful look. Bucky shook his head and leaned in a little closer, "Because you're you Skye. You're brave and strong and you have all these people here that are willing to help you. You'll be okay little princess, I know you will."

Bucky sounded completely sure of himself when he said that. His utter assuredness had Skye starting to believe him. She nodded at him and he smiled down at her before looking back to the t.v. screen.

She combed her fingers through Alice's hair and thought about what Bucky said. He thought that she was going to be okay. He thought she was brave and strong and she didn't know if he was right about that, but she would try to be those things.

She made Alice climb up Bucky's fake arm and start to do back flips off of his shoulder. He looked over and grinned before making sound affects for the doll. Clint turned around when he heard the noise. He sat up and made his way over to them, "Hey Skye, you know what Alice needs? Her own castle."

Skye thought about that. Alice did deserve her own castle. She nodded at Clint and he grinned at her, "You guys have any Lego's? I'm about to build the greatest castle you have ever seen."

Natasha and Steve both moved over to them. Skye nodded again and pointed to the staircase, "There's some in the playroom."

Natasha elbowed him, "I'll show you." They both stood up and disappeared upstairs.

They came back down with a plastic bin full of Lego's. After that, everyone abandoned the movie and helped Clint build a castle out of Lego's. Even May and Phil joined in.

By the time they finished, May was telling Steve, Bucky, and Clint that it was time for them to leave. She said it in a nice way and the guys all stood up and admired their work. Alice was standing in the middle of a multicolored Lego castle, complete with tall towers and a makeshift drawbridge.

Clint turned to her and held out a hand. Skye gently high-fived him before he said, "Mission accomplished."

She nodded in agreement. The castle looked pretty cool and Alice liked it in there.

Steve smiled and waved at her, "See you later Skye, it was fun hanging out." She smiled back at him and watched him say goodbye to everyone else.

Clint leaned in and tussled her hair, "Later princess. Next time I come over, we're going to renovate that castle so that it has a movie room." Skye had no idea how he was going to do that, but she was excited to find out. She grinned at him and waved.

Bucky moved so that he was standing in front of her, "I'll see you later Skye." He crouched down a little so that Skye didn't have to crane her neck to look at him, "Remember what I said okay? You'll be alright little princess, even if it doesn't feel like it right now."

Skye swallowed thickly and hoped that he was right. She took a step forward and quickly hugged him around the waist. She stepped back before he could hug her back, but when she looked up at his face, he was smiling down at her.

He straightened up and said goodbye to everyone else and then the three of them walked out the door.

May turned to her, "We've got about twenty minutes until Jiaying get's here sweetie. Are you hungry?"

She shook her head. She watched as May looked over to Phil and had this weird silent conversation between them. Phil turned and smiled at her, "I'm pretty hungry. You wanna help me make dinner until Jay gets here?"

Skye nodded, plucked Alice out of her castle, and took Phil's hand. They walked into the kitchen and May followed them. She heard Pietro say that they were going to go outside and play some football and watched everyone else head out the backdoor.

Phil reached into the fridge and grabbed some things while May set her on the counter and stood in front of her. She brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes and said, "So, you know how Natasha was with you the last time you talked to Jay?"

Skye nodded.

"How would you feel if it was just you and Jay talking this time?"

Skye tilted her head, "Just the two of us?"

May nodded and started running her fingers through Skye's hair. She leaned into the touch. "Yeah. I think it might help if you talk to Jay one-on-one. What are your feelings about that?"

Skye didn't want to be alone. She liked Jay and all, but she barely knew her. She bit her lip and shook her head.

May cupped her cheek, "What if we leave your bedroom door open and Phil and I sit in the hallway. That way if you need us, we can hear you call for us."

Skye considered that. She still didn't want to be left completely alone with Jay, even though the thought of having May and Phil within calling distance helped her feel a little better.

"How about you try that out and if you don't like it, I'll go and stay in the room with you?"

"So… if I don't like it, you'll come in and sit with me while I talk to Jay?"

May nodded at her.

"Do you promise?"

May smiled at her and held out her pinky, "I pinky promise. You can't break pinky promises, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to do that."

Skye interlocked their pinkies, "Okay, I'll try it."

May leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around May's neck and latched onto her. She heard May breathe out a laugh and felt her straighten up, this time with Skye in her arms. May readjusted her so that she was comfortable while she looked over to Phil. He was cutting up vegetables and putting them into a big salad bowl.

May poked her thigh, "Are you sure you aren't hungry?"

Skye nodded. She was pretty sure.

"We're going to save you a plate anyways okay? You might be hungry when you're done talking to Jay."

Skye shrugged and nodded even though she didn't think that her appetite would return. She didn't know what was wrong with her tummy. Maybe she was sick again? She shuddered at that. She _hated_ being sick.

She hung out with May and Phil in the kitchen until she heard the doorbell ring. May glanced at her and they made their way out of the kitchen to answer it. When May unlocked the door and pulled it open, she saw Jay waiting on the other side of it with a big smile on her face.

She stepped inside, "Hey Skye, it's so nice to see you again."

Skye tightened her hold on May with one hand and waved with the other even though Alice was in it.

Jay looked over to May, "It smells great in here! Did I interrupt dinner?"

May shook her head, "No, Phil's preparing it right now. Skye's not hungry though, are you Skye?"

Skye shook her head and missed the pointed look May gave Jay.

Jay looked back to her, "Really? It smells so good though! Did you have a big lunch? Sometimes when I do that, I'm not hungry for dinner."

Skye shook her head again and May answered for her, "No, she didn't really eat lunch either."

She watched Jay nod and change the subject, "Well, are you ready to go upstairs Skye? I'm very excited to talk to you."

Skye looked at May, "You'll wait in the hallway right?"

May kissed her cheek, "Of course sweetie, I promised you didn't I?"

Skye nodded. They all made their way upstairs and May set her down outside her room. She pointed to a spot by Natasha's door, "I'll wait over here okay? Call me if you need me."

Skye nodded and forced her legs to carry her into her room. Her chest felt like it was getting emptier and emptier the further she got from May.

Jay followed her and Skye was grateful when she left the door halfway open. She climbed onto her bed and when Jay asked if it was okay if she moved her chair over, she nodded. Jay settled herself in Skye's desk chair and she scooted back so that she was resting against her headboard.

Jay took a pad of paper and a pen out of her bag and smiled at her, "So Skye, I hear you've had a pretty scary past few days."

Skye swallowed and nodded.

Jay crossed her legs, "Do you maybe want to talk about what happened?"

Skye vigorously shook her head. She had been keeping her mind off of what happened and it had been going pretty well for her. She didn't want to think about it.

Jay nodded, "Okay. When your mom called me yesterday, she said that it kind of seemed like you were afraid of being alone. Do you think she's right?"

Skye didn't have to think about it. She knew that May was right. She nodded.

"Why do you think you're afraid of that Skye?"

Skye forced images of Crazy Cal out of her head, "I don't know."

Jay nodded again, "Do you think it might be because you think you might get taken again?"

Skye felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She looked away from Jay and took a couple of deep breaths.

"It's okay if you cry Skye. There's nothing wrong with that."

Skye shook her head, "I cry a lot here. I don't want to."

She was still looking away from Jay when she heard her say, "Why's that?"

"Because families don't like crybabies."

She heard pen on paper and looked back to see Jay writing something down. Jay looked up at her, "Skye, I'm going to say the first part of a sentence and if you don't mind, can you finish it with what you think that your best answer is?"

Skye nodded. She completed fill-in-the-blank questions for Ms. Hill all the time.

Jay smiled at her, "Okay, here it is. 'I don't want to cry in front of my family because…'"

Skye thought about it for a second, "Because crying is a problem, and I don't want to be a problem because families don't like it when kids are difficult."

Jay nodded at her, "So you think that if you cry a lot, this family will… what? Send you back to the orphanage?"

Skye nodded.

Jay leaned forward, "Skye, I've talked with your parents and they've assured me that they are never going to send you back to St. Agnes'. Don't you believe them?"

Skye looked away. She trusted May and Phil a lot. More than she'd ever trusted anyone in her whole entire life… but she was still plagued with 'what-ifs'. What if they got tired of her and sent her back? What if they start to think that she's too much of a problem? What if she's not worth all the trouble? In the past three weeks alone she had had multiple breakdowns, a panic attack that had made them get her from school early, and she had been kidnapped. That was a lot of problems.

"I want to believe them."

"Good, that's good Skye. What do you think it would take for you to believe them completely?"

Skye didn't know. She wasn't sure what it would take. She was pretty sure she was just being stupid about this. May and Phil had told her multiple times that they weren't going to send her back to the orphanage…but that was _before_ the bad thing had happened.

Jay spoke up, "Why don't we come back to that later. How have you been doing since you got back home?"

Skye shrugged. She didn't know how to answer that.

"Sorry, let me clarify that a little bit. Did you have any nightmares last night?"

Skye shuddered when she thought about her nightmares, "Yes."

Jay sat back in her chair, "Do you remember what they were about?"

Skye bit her lip before saying, "Yes."

Jay nodded, "Can you tell me about them?"

Skye didn't want to. Telling her about her nightmares would make her think about all the bad things that happened. Jay leaned towards her, "Skye, I know that it's probably scary and upsetting to talk to me about what happened, but talking about it can really help you start to feel better. You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to, but this could help you start to heal. It's completely up to you Skye."

Skye looked at her. She was telling the truth. She could refuse to talk about anything and Jay wouldn't mind, she could tell. She wondered if Jay was right about talking helping her to feel better. She _wanted_ to start feeling better. She wanted to feel like herself again.

She took a deep breath, "They're mostly the same. There's a loud bang and then Crazy Cal falls down in front of me and there's so much blood around me, it's all I can see."

Jay nodded, "Good Skye. Now, is 'Crazy Cal' the person who took you?"

Skye nodded.

"And the loud bang that you hear, is that a gunshot?"

Skye nodded again, "The men in black shot him."

Jay tilted her head, "Do you know who the men in black are?"

She shook her head. All she knew was that they were scary.

"They're the police."

That made sense. She nodded.

"Can you think of why the police were there?"

Skye scratched her arm and brought Alice closer to her, "To…come and get me?"

Jay nodded, "Yes, do you know what the police's job is?"

Skye nodded. At her old school, a police lady came into her class and talked to them about safety, "To keep people safe."

Jay tilted her head, "Do you think that they kept you safe?"

Her mind was suddenly assaulted by images of them bursting through the door and yelling. Their voices were so _loud_ and they looked scary, not safe. She felt her breathing pick up and she shoved the images out of her brain. When she focused, she noticed that Jay was staring at her.

"Has that been happening a lot Skye?"

"What?"

Jay put a hand over her chest and made it look like she was taking a deep breath, "When you think about what happened, do you have trouble breathing?"

Skye nodded.

Jay wrote something down and then leaned forward, "You're mom told me that you had a panic attack earlier today, was that because you were thinking about what happened two days ago?"

Skye nodded.

"When you think about what happened when you were kidnapped, do you try to make yourself forget or think about something else?"

"Yes."

"Does that help you?"

"It helps for a little while."

Jay smiled softly, "But it always comes back, doesn't it?"

Skye nodded again.

"That's because trying to push away those bad memories isn't good for you Skye. I know that it's scary, but if you don't face up to those memories, you won't be able to start moving past this horrible situation. I know that that seems impossible right now, but that's what I'm here for. For now, I'm going to teach you some things that you can do to help you out when you start to feel overwhelmed, like when you had your panic attack. Does that sound okay?"

If there was a way to stop her panic attacks, she wanted to know what it was, "Yes please."

Jay smiled at her, "Alrighty, if you feel yourself start to feel overwhelmed, what you should do first is try to figure out where these feelings are coming from. Do you know what caused your panic attack earlier?"

Skye blushed a little but answered, "Wanda dropped a board game."

"Okay, can you maybe think back to why that scared you?"

Skye thought about it. When Wanda dropped the game, it crashed to the ground, "The noise was loud."

"What did it remind you of?"

She played with her fingers and looked at her bedspread, "The loud noises that happened in the room."

Jay nodded, "So you were reminded of something that happened in the past. That's a key part that I need you to remember okay Skye? These events that are making you anxious happened in the past, so they can't harm you anymore." She let that sink in before continuing, "The second thing you should do, after figuring out where your feelings are coming from, is acknowledge that you are feeling anxious. It's okay to feel panicky and scared, but it's important to know that even though you're afraid, you're not in any danger, does that make sense?"

It did, "Yeah."

"So you should tell yourself that you are safe and not in any danger. After that, you should try to control your breathing. Do you want to know a trick for that?"

Skye nodded eagerly.

"You inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for three seconds, and then exhale for four seconds. Can you try that?"

She sucked in a breath and made sure it lasted for four seconds, then she held it for three seconds, and then she slowly exhaled. It was slow and required some concentration, but she could do it.

Jay smiled approvingly at her, "Good job Skye. Can you tell me what the three steps that I told you were?"

Skye held up one finger, "Figure out why I'm feeling the way I am," She held up another finger, "Tell myself that I'm safe," She held up a third finger, "Do the breathing thing."

Jay smiled brightly, "Good. And you inhale for how long?"

Skye held up four fingers, "Four seconds."

Jay nodded, "And you hold your breath for how long?"

"Three seconds."

"Excellent Skye. Now when you start to feel like you're about to have a panic attack or even if you just start to feel overwhelmed, you can do those three steps and it should help you."

She made sure to repeat the steps in her head over and over so that she wouldn't forget them.

Jay glanced at her watch, "We have a little more time left, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

She didn't really feel like talking anymore, and she felt drained from thinking about her bad dreams. She shook her head and squeezed her moon pendant. She saw Jay look at it and tilt her head, "Is that a new necklace?"

Skye nodded and moved her hand so that she could show the older woman. She was very proud of it. "Yeah, Wanda and Pietro got it for me."

Jay moved from her chair to sit on the bed next to Skye and examined it before smiling, "It's very beautiful Skye. That was kind of them."

Skye couldn't help but grin a little, "Yeah, they're nice."

Jay grinned at her, "Do you like having them here?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "I wish they could stay here all the time and then we could all be here together forever."

Jay breathed out a soft laugh, "That's a wonderful thing to wish for Skye. Does it make you feel bad when you think about them having to leave again?"

"Yeah, I wish they didn't have to go."

Jay nodded in understanding, "I know. It would be cool if they could stay here all the time right?"

Skye nodded and Jay continued, "But you know that they aren't disappearing forever right? Even when they're gone, they still love you and miss you. They'll be back once they're done with school and you guys can be together again."

Skye nodded even though she still didn't want them to leave her. It made her feel sad to think about it. She looked away and said, "Can I go see my mommy now?"

Jay looked at her and stood up, "Of course you can Skye. Let's go."

She ran out the door ahead of Jay and saw May and Phil sitting in the hall by Natasha's bedroom door. When they spotted her, they both stood up and smiled. She sprinted to them.

* * *

May kept expecting to hear Skye call her into her room but that hadn't happened yet. She could only hear the occasionally murmur coming from Skye's room and she didn't hear any crying, so she assumed that it was going well.

Skye might be doing fine, but _she_ was a nervous wreck. Skye wasn't eating and she was way clingier than normal. She had seen how the little girl didn't even want to go into the kitchen by herself, how was she going to go back to school? She hoped that Jiaying would be able to help.

Phil had joined her after he finished dinner and served it to the kids. He told her that he saved a plate for the three of them and sat down beside her. They were both unusually quiet as they waited for the session to be over.

She saw Skye run out of her room and they both quickly stood up. The little girl spotted them and ran their way. She didn't see tears and she looked relatively calm, so May assumed that she wasn't upset.

Skye was a step or two away before she jumped and May caught her. She lifted her up and held her in her arms, "How'd it go?"

Skye wrapped her arms around May's neck and set her head on May's shoulder. She heard the little girl mumble, "Okay."

She looked over to Phil and he gave her a helpless look before leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of Skye's head. Jiaying made her way over to them and smiled. She took that as a good sign.

Jay pulled her bag tighter over her shoulder, "Sorry if that lasted a little longer than usual. You're probably pretty hungry by now, huh Skye?"

She felt the little girl shake her head and her stomach dropped a little. Skye _really_ needed to eat something.

She gave Phil a look and he cleared his throat before saying, "Everyone came back inside after their game was over, you want to go see what they're up to Skye?"

Skye lifted her head up and looked over to Phil. He smiled at her and May could feel Skye's hesitance before she said, "Okay."

Phil grinned and reached over to take her out of May's arms. She watched as Skye wrapped herself around Phil and waved to her before they both made their way down the staircase. She turned back to Jay.

"Give it to me straight Jay."

She watched Jay let out a breath, "I'm pretty sure she has PTSD. It was probably there already due to her past, but this incident has increased her symptoms. From what I've seen, she has probably developed some separation anxiety. That would explain why she doesn't want to leave you or Phil."

That made sense, but May was still worried about her eating patterns, "Why won't she eat?"

Jay tilted her head, "She's stressed. Anxious. Those feelings can manifest and cause her to feel physically ill. It's probably preventing her from eating and from sleeping too."

Jay took a breath and stared her straight in the eye, "The good thing is that we're getting Skye the help she needs immediately after this experience. It's better to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as quickly as possible so that it doesn't become more internalized or get worse. Skye needs to confront what happened to her. Right now, she's ignoring it. She won't think about it and once I introduce a topic, she'll vaguely speak about it and then clam up. I didn't expect to have a heart-to-heart on our first session, even I'm not that good," Jay paused to grin a little, "but I think it would be best if I come over again tomorrow. She's not going to like it, but she _needs_ to talk about what happened to her. Honestly Mel, I don't think she understands half of what went on and she needs an explanation. Some things might be better if she hears it from you."

May found herself nodding along to what Jiaying was saying. She would do anything she could to help Skye, "Like what?"

She and Jay started to slowly walk down the staircase, "Well, most children don't know what death really is or what it means. Skye has been subjected to it and it might help her if she understands what happens when someone dies."

May wasn't really sure how to appropriately explain death to a six year old, but she would damn well try her hardest. "Okay, anything else?"

Jay smiled gently at her, "Skye just needs to know that you're here for her. She thinks that with everything that has happened, you might be considering taking her back to the orphanage."

May stopped short , "What? We would never."

"I know that Mel, but Skye's doubting everything right now. She needs reassurance and to feel safe."

May nodded even as her heart started aching. She just wanted Skye to feel safe and happy again, "Thanks Jay. Same time tomorrow?"

Jay nodded and reached to open the door, "Yep, I'll be here."

They shook each other's hands and said their goodbye's before Jay walked out the door and May shut it behind her. She leaned her forehead against the door to get her bearings. She took a deep breath and turned around. She could see everyone sitting at the dining room table. There were construction paper and crayons everywhere and Skye was sitting on Phil's lap. She was absentmindedly drawing on a piece of paper but she didn't look like she was focusing too hard on it.

May wasn't sure what she was going to do. She wasn't equipped to deal with this sort of thing. She mentally berated herself and took a deep breath. Skye needed her and she would do everything and anything in her power to help her little girl.

She watched as Skye looked up and spotted her. She raised her little hand and started waving May over. She smiled, straightened up, and made her way over to her family.

* * *

What'd you guys think? Poor Skye, she's going to need to meet with Jay a lot before she starts to feel better. A Guest asked for the guys to be included in this chapter so I threw them in there :) I was going to have Trip's friends come over too but I thought that that would probably be a little too overwhelming for Skye.

Let me know what you thought! Which character is your favorite in this fic, I'm really curious to know :) And sorry in advance if I won't be able to update this weekend! Thanks for reading xx -Ariel


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey guys! Thanks for being patient! I had a lot of fun on my vacation :)**

 **Here's the new chapter, I hope you like it. As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye was tired.

She was tired but she didn't want to go to sleep.

She knew what would be waiting for her when she closed her eyes and she wasn't eager to see the images that her mind could conjure up. She would rather stay up and deal with the consequences.

She had taken a shower, faithfully ignoring how the warmth and steam made her already heavy eyelids feel heavier, and had put on her comfy footie pajamas. After refusing to eat, May had given her a glass of milk and a worried look. She still had five minutes until bedtime and she was _not_ going to waste them.

She was sitting on the bed in Nattie's room. It had taken her a couple of minutes to feel comfortable without May or Phil in there with her but she kept reminding herself that they were right down the hall. Both of her sisters were on the bed with her and they were telling Skye stories about their pasts. She was listening avidly and trying to ignore the fact that May and Phil would be looking for her soon so that they could put her to bed.

Wanda was in the middle of a story, her hands were waving around and her eyes were bright, "and then she starts yelling at me in Russian! I have no idea what she's saying, but from her tone, it wasn't anything good-"

Natasha holds up a hand and interrupts her, "It wasn't bad Skye, don't listen to her."

Wanda looked like she didn't believe her, "Ooookay. Because it didn't sound like you were paying me a bunch of compliments now did it?"

Natasha opened her mouth to respond when there was a knock on the door. Nattie yelled at whoever it was to come in but Skye already knew who it was. She crawled into Nattie's lap and watched as May walked into the room, "Bedtime Skye."

She grabbed onto Natasha's arm, "Do I have to?"

May gave her a look, "I'm sorry baby but yes. You've already stayed up later than you usually do. Come on, I'll read you a story."

May held out her hand but Skye stayed where she was. She looked up to Natasha and gave her a pleading look. Maybe she could talk May into letting her stay up a little later?

The older girl gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry маленькая звезда. Mom's in charge."

She glanced over to Wanda and saw that she was nodding in agreement. She let out a breath. She knew that she wouldn't be able to win against May. She was the mommy so she made the rules, but that didn't mean that Skye liked _this_ particular rule.

She moved as slowly as possible; crawling out of Natasha's lap, sliding off the bed, and trudging towards May. The older woman wiggled her fingers and Skye grabbed her hand before they both made their way down the hall. May was about to turn into Skye's room when the little girl halted.

She peered into her room and saw Phil waiting in there with some books in hand. He spotted her and grinned but she couldn't grin back. She didn't want to sleep in here all by herself. It was going to be dark and it was scary and she didn't want to do it.

She tugged on May's hand to get her attention but couldn't look her in the eye, "I don't want to sleep in here."

She kept her eyes on the ground and heard May say, "We'll stay in here until you fall asleep baby, it'll be okay."

Skye tightened her grip on May's hand and swallowed thickly. May didn't get it. She _knew_ she would be having some nightmares tonight and she didn't want to wake up all alone. If she _had_ to, she could probably fall asleep in here with May and Phil by her side, but she didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night all by herself. She _couldn't_.

She swallowed again and whispered, "Please." She winced when she heard her voice crack on that stupid, pathetic word. She was being a problem right now, she knew it, but she couldn't help it.

She felt May squeeze her hand before gently tugging her down the hallway and towards hers and Phil's room. She could hear Phil following her and she kept her head down as May led her into the room. She climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged near the top-middle part of it. She was in bed because it was bedtime, that didn't mean she had to fall asleep.

She saw May give Phil a look and god, she wished that she had the power to decode their private language because they had been communicating by looks ever since she came back to them. She watched Phil sit down beside her with some books in his hand and felt the bed dip down on her other side, telling her that May was sitting next to her too.

She waited for Phil to open a book and start reading to her but that didn't happen. She scrunched up her nose and looked at him. He was studying her. He opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something before shutting it again. He reached over and smoothed her hair down before giving her a small smile, "Skye, you know we love you, right?"

She nodded. She knew that Phil loved her more than chocolate chip cookies, higher than the sky, more than all the water in the ocean. She knew that May loved her to the moon and back and more than all the stars in the sky. They told her that they loved her all the time and she believed them.

Phil let out a breath, "Good, because we love you very much. You know that we are never going to take you back to St. Agnes' right?"

She had started to believe them…but that was before. It was before she had been taken and scared them. Now she was afraid to be alone, had nightmares all the time and had trouble breathing when she thought about the bad things. May told her that there was nothing wrong with her but she didn't know if that was true. She thought that she had been a problem _before_ , but that was _nothing_ compared to now.

She looked down at the bed and grabbed onto her moon pendant. She rubbed it between her fingers, a familiar action that was comforting to her.

She heard Phil speak up again, "Skye, we're _never_ taking you back there. We said that before and we'll say it again and again until you believe us. A lot has changed but _that_ hasn't."

Her eyes stayed downcast, "Why?"

May finally said, "What do you mean?"

Skye tried to put her thoughts into words. She had never been very good at doing that, "Why do you want to keep me? I was a problem before but now I'm an even bigger one! It doesn't make sense!"

She didn't mean to make her voice so loud. She winced as she spoke and forced herself to try the breathing exercise that Jay taught her.

When Phil spoke again, his voice was soft and a little confused, "What are you talking about Skye? You're not a problem, why would you think that?"

How could she not think that? She _knew_ she was a handful. Difficult. Needy. Annoying. She had been called all those things before. She was a problem. Sister Margaret said that she was hard to place in new homes, no one wanted a kid like her and if they did, she ruined everything after a couple of weeks. She was never the right fit. She always did something to screw it up. She was bad at school, she didn't learn as fast as the other kids and that was a problem for her teachers. She took up too much space at the orphanage; played with other kids toys and used precious hot water when she showered. Her whole life, she had been told how much of a problem she was, and she believed it.

She felt tears well up in her eyes at the memories. She couldn't stop them when they fell onto her cheeks but she forced herself to take a breath and make sure her voice didn't waver when she responded, "Because I am! A lot of bad things happened and it's all my fault!"

She felt Phil place a hand under her chin and prompt her to look up. She slowly complied and saw how concerned he looked, "You can't think like that Skye, you are _not_ a problem. We love you and you're a part of this family. We don't give up on family. We're never taking you back to that place no matter what happens, I promise okay?"

Skye wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him _so_ badly. He sounded so sincere and genuine that she found herself caving. Phil and May always kept their promises and he had promised that they weren't going to take her back. They never lied to her before, but it was just so weird for her to consider that someone would want her, baggage and all.

She didn't want to get her hopes up but she couldn't help it.

"You promise?" She held out her pinky because May told her that you weren't allowed to break pinky promises _ever_.

Phil curled his pinky around hers, "I promise sweetie."

Skye pulled her pinky back and threw her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder. Her tears stopped as she felt him rub a soothing had down her back. She believed him. She had believed other families before when they said that and maybe she was crazy for trusting him, but she was going to do it anyways.

She felt him lean back a little and press a kiss to the side of her head, "Now, what do you think about The Cat in the Hat? It's a classic."

Skye nodded and settled back against the headboard. She felt better now that she knew she was going to be staying here with her family but that didn't mean she wanted to fall asleep. She ran a hand over her face and May pulled the sheets up and over her legs before leaning forward and kissing Skye's cheek. Skye snuggled back against a pillow and Phil smiled at her. He opened the blue book and started reading from it.

Skye was doing a _really_ good job of evading sleep. When her eyelids would start to droop, she would subtly pinch her arm and that would wake her up again. She was doing so well…until May started running her fingers through her hair. It felt nice and when May gently tugged her so that she was lying down, she couldn't find it in herself to protest. She told herself that she could stay awake even if she was lying down and that's what she did… for about four more minutes until her eyelids shut against her will.

* * *

She woke up crying. The room was dark and tears were leaking from her eyes. She didn't scream this time so she guessed that that was better than the last time. It was the same nightmare as before; a loud bang, the blood, the hand grabbing her arm, her waking up right after. She could still feel the tight grip that Crazy Cal had on her arm in her dream.

She looked around and saw that May and Phil were still asleep. A part of her was relieved that she hadn't woken them, she always felt guilty when she did that, while another part of her wished that they were awake so that she could hug them.

She wiped her nose with her arm and tried to stop her tears. It didn't work very well. She took a deep breath and moved closer to May. The older woman was lying on her side facing her so she pressed herself close to May's chest and rested her head against her neck.

She sniffled and tried to go back to sleep. That didn't work very well either. She shifted a little bit and froze when she felt May twitch. She stayed still and hoped that she hadn't woken her up.

She heard May make a sleepy sound and felt her run a hand down her back. She looked up and saw May looking down at her. May's voice was gravelly when she spoke, "You okay sweetie?"

She shrugged and burrowed back against May. She was warm and felt safe.

She felt fingers combing through her hair and it helped her relax. Her tears finally stopped. May gently patted her back, "Bad dream?"

Skye nodded and made a soft, surprised noise when May pulled her up so that they were face to face, "Can you go back to sleep?"

She shook her head and watched as May glanced over to Phil's sleeping form before leaning in and whispering, "You want some hot chocolate?"

She nodded enthusiastically and felt May pull away from her and quietly slide out of the bed. She sat up and made sure to be silent so that she didn't wake up Phil. She glanced over and saw that he was still sleeping, mouth hanging open and arm thrown over the side of the bed. She looked back over to May and reached up. The older woman picked her up and she rested her head on her shoulder as they made their way through the dark house.

They ended up in the kitchen. May set her onto the counter and started making their hot chocolate. She watched her move around the kitchen and then helped her place mini-marshmallows on top of their drinks before May set her down and led her into the living room. They both sat on the couch and May turned the t.v. on and changed the channel so that Spongebob was playing. She sipped her drink and watched the show but she could feel May staring at her.

From the corner of her eye, she saw May set her cup down and turn to her. She followed suit and turned her body so that they were facing each other. May looked like she was thinking really hard about something so Skye stayed quiet until May figured it out.

The older woman reached forward and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "You wanna talk about your bad dream?"

She didn't really want to think about it, let alone talk about her nightmare.

She glanced away and pretended to watch the show again. She heard May let out a sigh, "It can make you feel better to talk about it baby."

Jay had said that too. Maybe they were both right? Either way, it couldn't make things worse to tell May about her dreams. She took a deep breath, "It's when I was in the room and the people in black came in. They were really loud and they shot him at him. He fell down and he just looks over to me and there's so much blood mommy. It's all around me and it has that smell you know? Like old pennies. He closes his eyes and his chest doesn't move anymore and I can feel myself moving towards him. I don't know _why_ I do that, I tell myself to stay still, but I don't. When I lean forward, his eyes open up and his hand grabs onto my arm and that's usually when I wake up."

She shudders as she recalls her nightmare. She swears that she can feel his hand on her arm, like in her dream, but she knows that that's stupid.

She see's May scoot closer to her, "That's pretty scary baby, but you know that that's just a dream right? He can't ever hurt you again."

She didn't answer, just crawled over and sat on May's lap. May ran her fingers through her hair and Skye rested her head against her chest, "Skye? Do you know what happens when someone dies?"

She knew what had happened when the Harvey's had died, "People's chests stop moving so they can't breathe and they don't wake up right away, no matter how many times you call their name."

There was a pause before May said something, "Well…yes but there's more to it than that. When someone dies, they'll never wake up again."

Skye lifted her head and looked up at May, "…Never?"

May nodded, "Never, no matter what. So you know that what happens in your dream can _never_ happen in real life, right?"

Skye thought about it. If you never woke up after you died, where did you go? If Crazy Cal never woke up then that meant that he would never be able to find her again. He wouldn't be able to take her away from her family and he wouldn't be able to scare her. This realization made her feel a lot better.

She twirled a finger around May's hair and said, "So…he can't get me again?"

May placed a kiss on the top of her head, "No baby, he can't get you again. Phil and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that you _never_ have to go through anything like that ever again, okay? We'll keep you safe."

Skye nodded and felt a giant weight lift off of her shoulders. Knowing that Crazy Cal could never get to her again helped her breathe better.

They sat there for a little while with the soft voices from the television in the background. She felt her eyelids start to droop and tried to force them back open. She focused on Spongebob and tried to latch onto his silly voice but she couldn't. May's hands felt really nice running through her hair and she was so _tired_. She couldn't stay awake any longer, so she shifted so that her head was resting on May's shoulder, pressed her face against the older woman's neck, and fell asleep.

* * *

May had been waiting for Skye to fall asleep. The little girl had barely been able to keep her eyes open but she had to hand it to her, Skye was s _tubborn_. She had stayed awake longer than May thought she would.

When she felt Skye go limp against her, she shifted a little so that she was sure that Skye wouldn't accidently fall over. She cradled Skye's head so that it didn't fall off of her shoulder and wrapped her other hand around her back to keep her steady. She didn't want to move just yet and risk waking the little girl up when she was barely unconscious.

She watched the yellow sponge make underwater hamburgers and thought about her talk with Skye. She knew that Skye probably had a lot more questions about death, that her sleepiness had kept her from voicing all of her thoughts. She was kind of relieved about that. She needed a little bit more time to come up with what she wanted to tell her. She wasn't a religious person but children seemed to be comforted by the thought of an afterlife. A place where people went when they died and were happy and safe. She couldn't tell Skye that if places like that did exist, her kidnapper would probably wouldn't be there, but would be in hell. She didn't need to know that.

Skye was old enough to grasp the basic concepts of death; a dead person can't come back to life, they were gone for good. She wasn't really sure what else she could tell Skye without scarring her any more than she already was.

She sighed. She and Phil had had a brief conversation on what they should tell Skye but they hadn't come to a concrete conclusion. She would have to bring it up to him tomorrow and they would deal with it together.

She was pretty sure that Skye was now deeply asleep so she slowly stood up with the little girl in her arms. She turned the t.v. off and left their mugs where they were, she would clean them in the morning. She made her way upstairs, shutting lights off as she went, and snuck back into her room. Phil was still sleeping and was now snoring softly.

She placed Skye gently in the middle of the bed and pulled the sheets up so that they covered her little body. She carefully got into the bed, cuddled close to Skye, and fell back asleep.

* * *

What'd you guys think? They put up season two of AoS on Netflix and I'm having a hard time stopping myself from binge-watching all off it. I totally wish I could pull of Skye's season 2 hair, it's kickass.

Leave me a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! How are your guys' summers going?

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel

Let me know what you thought and thank you for reading! xx -Ariel


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey guys! This new chapter is mainly just a cute, family, filler chapter. I hope you like it anyways :)**

 **Thank you for reading! I don't own anything (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye accidently woke herself up when she rolled over and collided with another sleeping body. She groaned and opened up her eyes. Phil was rubbing his shoulder where she had bumped into it and sleepily grinned at her. She rubbed her eyes and waved at him before looking around. It was dark outside and May was still soundly asleep. A glance at the digital clock on the bedside table told her that it was 5:43 in the morning. That was only a little earlier than she usually woke up, so she sat up in bed and stifled a yawn. Phil was doing the same thing and when he got out of bed, he gave her a questioning look.

She carefully stood up and gingerly made her way to the edge of the bed. She yawned and lifted an arm up while covering her mouth with the other one. Phil picked her and held her against him before making his way downstairs. She sleepily put her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. After her talk with May last night she hadn't had any more nightmares, but she hadn't rested peacefully. She felt like she hadn't slept at _all_.

Instead of ending up in the kitchen, they ended up in the living room. Phil whispered to her, "Too early for breakfast. How about we make some scrambled eggs in a little while for everyone when they start to wake up for school?"

Skye nodded and stayed in Phil's lap while he sat on the couch and turned the television on. He made sure the volume was low enough to not wake up anyone else. She kept her head on Phil's shoulder and listened to the quiet sounds coming from Phil's show. She absentmindedly watched the screen and existed in the state between being asleep and awake until they both heard footsteps coming down the stairs about an hour later.

She looked over just as Wanda collapsed onto the couch. She was grinning at them and looked fully awake. Skye wished that she felt like Wanda looked right now.

Wanda reached over and pushed Skye's hair behind her shoulder, "Surprised you're not making breakfast right now dad."

She felt Phil turn his head, "We were waiting for it to get a little later. I guess now's a good time to start cooking huh Skye? Nat and Trip will be down soon for school."

She felt his hand rub down her back and she tightened her hold around his neck, "Do I have to go to school?"

"No sweetie, you'll go back next week. Is that alright?"

She didn't ever want to go back to school but she didn't think that Phil would like hearing her say that so she just nodded weakly. As Phil stood up and walked into the kitchen, she saw Wanda get comfy on the couch and wave to her. She waved back and straightened up in Phil's arms.

He went to set her down on the counter but she tightened her hold on him and he just repositioned her so that he was holding her with one arm instead of two. He pulled some eggs out of the fridge and put a frying pan on the stovetop. As he made the eggs, she listened to him hum softly.

While the eggs were cooking, Phil started making toast. She tapped his shoulder to get his attention, "Daddy?"

Phil took the frying pan off the stove and transferred the completed scrambled eggs onto a plate before covering it with tin-foil. He placed the pan in the sink and turned his head so that he was looking over to her, "Yeah sweetheart?"

"Is mommy always right?"

Phil chuckled a little bit before grabbing the toast that had popped up from the toaster and setting it on a plate, "That's what she tells me. Why?"

She took a breath and said, "Because she said that since Crazy Cal is dead, he can't come and take me away again. She said that you guys were going to keep me safe…was she right?"

Phil moved her so that they were face to face. He banded an arm across her back so that she could lean back and look into his face, "She was absolutely right Skye."

She had had a feeling that May was right, she never gave her a reason to doubt her before, but it made her feel better to know that Phil thought the same thing. She gave him a small smile and hugged herself close.

He started swaying gently, "You're safe now, I'll keep you safe sweetie."

She nodded and continued to hug him as he finished making breakfast. Wanda wandered in and helped cut up some fruit. They set everything on the table and she sat on Phil's lap and forced herself to grab a piece of toast with jam on it. She was _hungry_. She hadn't eaten that much yesterday and even though her stomach protested, she bit into the toast and swallowed it.

May came downstairs and joined them. She smiled when she saw Skye eating. She moved around the table and kissed everyone's heads before sitting down and grabbing a plate.

Natasha and Trip came running down the stairs ten minutes later. Trip was glancing at his phone, "Go, go, go! Hunter's here already!"

They rushed towards the table and Natasha tossed Trip a piece of buttered toast. He caught it and shoved it in his mouth while she stuffed some scrambled eggs into hers.

Trip grabbed another piece of toast and spoke around the food in his mouth, "See you later guys."

Natasha nodded, readjusted her backpack, and grabbed a handful of blueberries before throwing them into her mouth and swallowing them. May was grinning at them, "Have a great day guys."

They nodded, smiled, and started to run out of the room. Skye slid off of Phil's lap and followed them without thinking, "Wait!"

She grabbed onto Nattie's backpack and Trip's arm before tugging on them. They halted and looked back to her. She let go of them and took a small step back, "Um, be careful okay?"

Natasha and Trip looked at each other before they both crouched down in front of her. Nattie reached forward and cupped Skye's cheek, "You got it маленькая звезда."

Trip nodded, "Maybe we can all go to the park today after school." When he saw her glance back to May, he added, "I know mom and dad _love_ playing on the monkey bars. They can come too."

Skye nodded and Trip leaned forward a little and hugged her. She tightly hugged him back and hoped that he would be safe at school. She hugged Natasha next and felt her sister place a kiss to the top of her head, "We gotta go Skye, but you have fun with Wanda and Pietro today okay? We'll see you later."

"Okay." She watched them stand up and smile at her before jogging out the door. She made her way back to the table and climbed onto May's lap. The older woman wrapped her arms around Skye's waist and she leaned into her. She looked around the table and saw that Pietro still wasn't there. He liked to sleep.

Wanda set down her fork and looked over to May, "What's the plan for today?"

Phil glanced at May and Skye saw them share one of their secret looks. She should ask Wanda if she knew their private language and if she could teach it to her. May spoke up, "Well, I thought maybe us girls could go shopping. I want to spoil you before you have to go back Wanda."

Skye looked over and saw Wanda's face scrunch up a little, "Mom, you don't have to."

May held up a hand, "I want to okay? We don't see each other enough."

Phil cleared his throat, "Pietro and I are going to be working on a secret mission today… if he ever wakes up."

Skye perked up, "A secret mission?"

Phil nodded seriously, "Yep, it's a surprise."

She leaned forward, "What is it?"

Phil gave her a playful look, "I can't tell you sweetie, then it wouldn't be a surprise now would it? You'll find out when you come back home from your fun day, I promise."

She groaned and leaned back against May. Wanda smiled at her, "Don't worry Skye, we'll have a lot of fun. Maybe we can go catch a movie too!"

Skye's eyes widened. She had watched plenty of movies at home or in the orphanage but she'd never been to an actual theater to see one before. She started wiggling around and looked up to May, "Really?"

May smiled down at her, "I think we can fit in a movie." She winked at her and Skye couldn't help but smile. She was going to see an actual movie in an actual movie theater.

They finished up breakfast and May led her upstairs and into her room. She picked out some clothes and put them on and May put her hair into two braids.

She was nervous about leaving the house. She felt safe here and there were a lot of bad things that could happen if she left. She remembered what May and Phil both told her, that they would keep her safe, and she used that the help settle her nerves. She kept telling herself that she would be with May and Wanda and she would be fine.

She followed May into her room and helped her pick out her clothes before they both made their way back downstairs. Pietro was finally awake and was eating a bowl of cereal and some fruit at t he table. He looked up when he heard them walking towards him and smiled, "Morning guys."

Skye waved and May smiled at him, "Good morning sweetie."

May sat down next to Pietro and started talking to him. She saw that Phil was watching t.v. on the couch and made her way over to him while they waited for Wanda to come back downstairs. She climbed onto the couch next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders, "Daddy?"

He looked over to her, "Yeah sweetheart?"

She moved so that she was sitting on his lap and facing him. She put both of her hands on either side of his face, widened her eyes, and stuck out her bottom lip, "Will you tell me what the surprise is?"

Phil made a painful noise, "Oh no, not the puppy eyes! Please put those away."

She leaned close and kissed his cheek, "Please? I love you daddy."

Phil looked over to the kitchen, "Melinda! I need reinforcements. Our daughter is breaking down my resolve."

She heard May laugh as she walked into the living room, "Come on Skye, you don't want to ruin the surprise."

Skye couldn't really find it in her to be upset that her plan hadn't worked. Phil had said that she was their daughter. Sure, they always told her that they loved her and that she was a part of the family but this felt different. She felt warm and happy.

She sighed and looked over when she heard Wanda walk down the stairs. She focused back on Phil and said, "Don't worry daddy, I still love you even though you won't tell me."

Phil grinned and ran his hand over her head, "Thank you Skye, I love you too."

Wanda sat down beside her and she moved off of Phil to study her bracelets. She grabbed onto one and Wanda said, "I got that one when we were in Paris, isn't it cute? Maybe when your wrist is a little bigger you can borrow it."

Skye nodded enthusiastically and listened as Wanda told her the story behind her each of her jewelry pieces. She got a little distracted when she heard May speak quietly to Phil, "I don't know if this is such a good idea."

She shifted a little to hear her better but made sure that she wasn't noticed. She nodded along to what Wanda was saying and strained to listen to Phil's response, "Jay said that it would be good for her to get back into the real world. She can't hide in the house her whole life Mel, it'll be alright."

"I know, I just don't want to stress her out any more than she already is."

"Just keep her close, let her know that she's safe, and make sure to have fun."

They stopped talking and Skye focused back on Wanda, "…and this one came from the same shop where we got your necklace."

Skye perked up and grabbed her moon pendant, "I love my necklace."

Wanda leaned over and wrapped an arm around Skye's shoulders, "I'm glad you like it, it looks great on you."

Skye smiled a little and leaned into her. She started playing with Wanda's long hair and thought about what she heard. Phil was right. She couldn't hide at home for her whole life. That didn't mean she didn't _want_ to, but she couldn't. It would be weird and she wouldn't be able to see her friends at school if she never left. If she had to leave the house, she was happy that May would be by her side. She kind of wished Phil was coming too though.

Wanda patted her thigh and she looked over and saw May and Phil waiting for her by the door. She stood up and Wanda followed her. They made their way over to the door and she wrapped her arms around Phil's waist and pushed her face into his stomach, "Bye."

She felt him smooth a hand down her hair, "Have fun sweetie. I'll see you later."

She nodded, grabbed onto May's hand, and walked outside.

It was bright out. She squinted her eyes and gripped May's hand tighter. She felt exposed without the walls of her home protecting her. She climbed into the car and May helped buckle her in. Wanda sat in the seat next to her and held her hand. She smiled gratefully at her. May got in, started the car, put on some Disney songs, and pulled out of the driveway.

She softly sang along with the songs, held Wanda's hand, and listened to the two older woman talk on the way to the mall. She felt okay right now. May kept smiling back at her in the mirror and she liked hearing the gentle banter going on between her and Wanda.

They pulled into the mall parking lot and Wanda unbuckled her. She opened the door and slid out of the car before grabbing onto May's hand. She looked around the parking lot and swallowed thickly. It felt weird being away from her home, but May was with her and she promised to keep her safe, so she took a deep breath and followed May and Wanda towards the mall entrance.

They walked into the mall and she looked around. It was still kind of early and there weren't a lot of people roaming around but she still stepped back so that she was partially hidden behind May's legs. She grabbed onto May's leg and felt her reach down and comb her fingers through Skye's hair.

She looked up, "I don't think I like it here mommy."

May crouched down and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes. She made a sympathetic sound and said, "Why don't we give it a shot and if you still don't like it, we can leave?"

She looked around and saw Wanda watching her, "I think that our first stop should be the toy store, don't you? I think Alice might want a new friend, huh?"

She thought about it, "Alice _does_ like making friends…"

Wanda grinned, "Let's go find her a friend."

May went to stand up and Skye threw herself at her. She wove her arms around May's neck and the older woman stood up with her in her arms. She wrapped her legs around May's waist and the older woman leaned in and kissed her cheek. She snuggled close and felt better about being around so many strangers in a public place.

The group walked further into the mall and turned into a toy store. As she looked around, her eyes widened and she couldn't stop her mouth from curving into a small smile. She _liked_ toy stores.

A man in a yellow polo walked up to them with a friendly smile on his face. She shrunk back against May. The employee stopped in front of them, "Is there anything I can help you with today?"

She watched as Wanda took a small step forward and smiled, "Actually, we're looking for a doll friend for my little sister. Can you point us in the right direction?"

The man motioned for them to follow him down an aisle, "Here are all of our dolls. We've got all their accessories here and some stuffed animals in the next aisle. Let me know if you need any help, my name's Johnny."

She heard May thank him and watched him walk away. Wanda grinned at her, "Let's see if there are any dolls worthy enough to be Alice's friend."

Skye nodded and looked around. Her eyes moved past the princess doll, she already had Rapunzel, and settled on some other lifelike dolls. She immediately zeroed in on a doll with long, dark, wavy hair. The doll had green eyes, a red-ish pink dress, and looked like Wanda.

She pointed to it and May leaned down so that she could grab it, "This one looks like you Wanda."

Her sister leaned over to study it, "Huh. It does, doesn't it?"

Skye nodded and hugged it close to her. May looked to her, "You like that one?"

Skye nodded and May smiled at her before walking back over to the cash registers. She turned to Wanda, "Now when you go away, I can still play with you."

Wanda looked a little sad but smiled at her anyways. May set the doll down onto the counter and the employee rung it up. He was about to put it in a bag when May stopped him, "You don't need to bag it, we'll just carry it around. Could you cut off the tags though?"

The man nodded, cut off all the tags and handed the doll back to May. She gave it to Skye and she hugged it close to her chest while May thanked the man and walked out of the store.

May jostled her a little bit so that she would look at her, "You okay?"

She took stock of how she was feeling. She was happy that she got a new doll, especially one that looked like Wanda, and felt warm and safe wrapped around May. She still felt a little weary of being around a bunch of strangers and in an unfamiliar environment but it wasn't too bad. She nodded at May and the older woman smiled at her, "Let's see if we can find you some new boots."

* * *

Skye found herself enjoying their day. She had found a pair of cool new black boots and Wanda picked out some new shirts for her. They wandered into almost every store they walked past and Skye made sure she stayed safe and secure in May's arms.

They were walking through a fairly large store right now. Wanda was looking at some dresses while Skye and May were trailing behind her. Skye held her new doll tightly in one had while the other one was wrapped around May's neck.

She was looking at the dresses on the racks beside her. She froze up when she saw a familiar design. There was a pretty dark blue spaghetti strap dress hanging on the rack to the right of her, and instead of it having polka dots, it had small daisies on it.

She shut her eyes and saw the letters spelling out 'Daisy' on the wall in the room she was trapped in and tightened her hold around May's neck. She could feel her breathing pick up and tried to force the images out of her head.

She told herself to calm down and not freak out. It was just a bunch of flowers on a dress! It helped a little when she felt May rub a hand down her back, "Skye?"

She shook her head and tried to do what Jay had instructed her to do when she felt panicky. She told herself that she was safe and wasn't in any danger, she was in a store with her mom and her sister. She inhaled for four seconds, held her breath for three, and exhaled for four more seconds. She repeated that until she felt herself calm down and she didn't feel too upset anymore.

May jostled her a little bit so that she would look at her, "What's wrong?"

Skye pointed to the dress. May looked at it and raised an eyebrow, "You…don't like it?"

Skye shook her head and whispered, "He said my name was Daisy."

May looked really confused, "What do you mean honey?"

She put her head on May's shoulder, "He kept calling me Daisy even though I told him that it wasn't my name."

May finally caught on, "Oh. I'm sorry sweetie."

She started swaying gently and Skye just nodded. She felt better with May holding her and periodically kissing the side of her head. She lifted her head back up and looked over to May, "I don't like that name. I like 'Skye' better."

May smiled at her, "I do too. I think 'Skye' is the perfect name for you."

Skye nodded seriously and readjusted her grip on her new doll, "Yeah, me too."

* * *

What'd you guys think?

I rewatched all of season two today and my eye's kind of hurt from staring at the t.v. screen for so long. I'm telling you guys, I _really_ wish I could pull of Skye's hair this season. It's rad as hell.

Thank you for reading and an extra thank you to those of you who take the time to leave a review! You're all angels :) xx -Ariel


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey guys! Sorry I'm posting this chapter a little later than usual. I fell asleep at the beach today and stayed longer than I planned and I just now finished this chapter. Sorry!**

 **Thank you so much for reading :) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye came out of the movie theater with wide eyes and a wonderstruck smile. She tapped May's shoulder, "That was so cool! That screen was the size of the whole wall! I didn't even know they could _be_ that big."

They had finished shopping and caught a movie together. It had been a funny animated one and Skye had been a little nervous when the room had gotten dark, but she started to feel better after the movie started. Now that she knew how awesome the movie theater was, she wanted to go back and watch another one but they were already heading towards the parking lot.

May smiled, "I'm glad you liked it sweetie. Maybe we can convince your daddy to take us to the movies again next weekend."

Skye nodded eagerly. She _liked_ the movie theater.

They made it to the car and May set her in her booster seat so that she could help Wanda put all the bags in the back of the car. Wanda climbed into the backseat with her and helped her buckle the confusing straps on her seat. May got in the front, turned on the music, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Frozen songs were playing and when there was a duet, Wanda would sing one part and she would sing the other. Wanda had a really pretty voice and she liked singing with her. She handed her sister her new doll, "What should her name be?"

Wanda carefully held the doll out in front of her, "Hmm… She kind of looks like a Mara, doesn't she?"

Skye studied the doll and repeated the name in her head. She nodded and looked at Wanda, "Mara's a perfect name."

Her sister grinned and handed the doll back. She hugged Mara close to her and went back to singing softly.

May said her name and when she looked up, she could see her looking back at her through the rearview mirror, "I'm very proud of you Skye. I know today was a little scary but you stuck it out and I'm very impressed."

Skye felt herself blush at May's praise and couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, do you think they're done with the surprise yet?"

She saw May's shoulders rise, "I'm not sure sweetie."

Wanda bumped her shoulder, "I'll text Pietro and find out."

Skye watched as she tapped her phone and waited anxiously for Pietro to respond. She jiggled her foot and Wanda turned to her, "Don't worry, he's usually glued to his phone."

Sure enough, a couple seconds later her phone vibrated and Skye leaned over to try and see what it said. The screen was too dim for her to read, but Wanda told her what it said, "He said that they finished a couple of minutes ago."

Skye bounced around in her seat for the remainder of the ride. She was excited to get home and see the surprise.

When May _finally_ pulled into their driveway, Wanda helped her unbuckle herself and she slid out of the car. She heard a different car door slam and she reached back and grabbed onto Wanda's hand when she heard the loud noise. The older girl hopped out of the car and casually lifted her up and placed Skye on her hip like she did it all the time. Skye wrapped an arm around her neck and they walked around the car to see who it was.

She saw Natasha walking their way and Trip getting out of Hunter's car. She let out a breath when she realized that they got home at the same time that her siblings did and the loud noise was just them. Bobbi was sitting in the front seat and when she made eye contact with Skye, she smiled and moved to get out of the car. Hunter gave Bobbi a weird look and said something but Bobbi just pointed in her direction and hopped out of the car.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw May step up beside them. Natasha grinned and stopped in front of them, "Hey guys, you have fun today Skye?"

Skye nodded. Bobbi walked up and stood by Nattie, "Hi Skye, how're you doing?"

Skye tightened her grip on Mara because the doll was slipping from her fingers, "I'm okay. We went to a movie theater today! It was super cool Bobbi."

Natasha gave May a playfully hurt look, "I can't believe you wouldn't let me skip school and _then_ you went and saw a movie without me."

May shrugged, "You've missed enough school this month."

Natasha sighed and Skye felt bad for having fun without her, "I'm sorry Nattie."

Her sister smiled at her, "It's okay Skye, we'll just have to see a movie together some other time."

"Mommy said that we can convince daddy to take us next weekend."

Natasha slowly smiled, "Between the two of us, there's no way he'll be able to say no. "

Skye hoped that she was right because she _really_ wanted to go back there.

Trip and Hunter both appeared and Hunter said hello to everyone. He turned to her, "Hey princess, is that a new dolly?"

Skye held Mara in front of her so that everyone could see, "Yeah, this is Mara."

Hunter studied her, "She's very pretty. I think Alice is going to like her."

Skye nodded seriously, "I chose her because she looks like Wanda. Don't you think so?"

Hunter nodded, "You did a spot on job." He looked to Bobbi, "Sorry guys, but we've got to head out. I've got to pick my little sister up from middle school and she gets mad when we're late. Let's go Bob."

Bobbi nodded and smiled at everyone before saying goodbye. Hunter did the same and they both made their way back to his car. Skye waved as he drove off.

Trip turned to May, "Did dad finish the oomph!" Trip was interrupted when Natasha elbowed him in the stomach. He gave her a wounded look and she tilted her head in Skye's direction. His eyes widened a little and he gently rubbed the spot that Natasha had elbowed, "Sorry."

Skye had momentarily forgotten her surprise but Trip mentioning it made all of her excitement rush back to her. She wiggled around until Wanda set her on the ground and then she grabbed onto May's hand and started tugging on it, "Can we go inside now?"

May chuckled and started walking towards the front door. Skye kept impatiently tugging on her hand and bounced on her toes as she unlocked the door. They walked inside and Skye immediately saw Phil and Pietro in the living room. She let go of May's hand and ran towards Phil. He was sitting on the couch, his head was tilted back and his eyes were closed. She didn't know if he was asleep of not but that didn't stop her from jumping onto the couch and scrambling onto his lap.

She put both hands on his stomach and leaned on them so that she could stretch up and try to look at his face. He groaned and gently took her hands off his stomach and held them in his hands instead, but didn't open his eyes. She leaned forward and poked his cheek, "Can I see the surprise?"

He opened up one eye, "What surprise?"

Skye sat back. She was _sure_ that Phil said that he and Pietro were going to be working on a secret mission today and Wanda said that Pietro texted her and told her that the surprise was done. She poked his cheek, "Are you messing with me?"

He sat up and smiled at her, "Yeah, I am. Hey, is that a new doll friend?"

She nodded and shoved Mara into his hands, "Yeah, this is Mara. Can I see the surprise now?"

He held the doll up and looked her over, "She's a very pretty doll. She kind of looks like Wanda doesn't she?"

Skye let out an exasperated breath, "Daddy, come _on_."

Natasha spoke up from behind her, "Yeah dad, the anticipation is getting to her."

Phil nodded and stood up, picking her up with him and placing her on his hip. She eagerly tapped his shoulder and looked around. She didn't see anything new.

She whipped her head around and saw May grinning at her, "It's outside sweetie."

Phil started making his way to the backdoor and she squinted in an attempt to be able to see better. I didn't work. Phil walked up the sliding glass door and she squealed when she looked out of it. She started swinging her legs and Phil chuckled as he opened the door for them. She squirmed until he set her down and she ran over to her surprise.

It was a play structure, complete with a slide, monkey bars, swings, and a little climbing wall. She ran over to the swings and pulled herself onto one. She admired her new little playground and smiled madly. She loved it. Now when Jemma and Fitz came over, they could play out here. She wondered if Phil would fit on the slide and laughed at the mental image.

Thinking about Phil made her remember that he and Pietro had _made_ this for her. She was pretty sure that they didn't build everything by themselves, they probably bought it and set it up for her, but that didn't matter. They had built this because they thought she would like it and she felt a rush of warmth flood through her.

She looked up and saw that her family was watching her. She hopped off the swing and ran back over to Phil. She wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

She felt him smooth a hand over her head, "You're welcome sweetheart. I'm glad you like it."

"It's awesome!" She stepped away from him and moved over to Pietro. She threw an arm around his waist and he leaned down to hug her back, "Thanks Pietro."

She stepped back and saw him smile at her, "You're welcome kiddo. Wanna test out the swings?"

She nodded and grabbed his hand. She pulled him over to the swing set and sat down, "Will you push me?"

Pietro didn't say anything, he just gently pulled her back and then pushed the swing forward. She watched Natasha, Trip and Wanda come over and check out the little playground. Wanda sat on the other swing and Nattie pushed her while Trip attempted to climb up the slide. He kept falling down and it made her smile. Phil and May moved over and sat down on at the patio table and watched them with smiles on their faces.

Pietro pushed her for a little while and then asked her if she would push him. They switched spots and she leaned into the swing and tried to push him. He didn't get very high. Nattie laughed and came over to help her. After a little while, they moved away from the swings and Trip held her up so that she could make her way across the monkey bars.

They played on the new playground until it started to get dark and May and Phil told them that it was time to go inside. They went in and everyone collapsed in the living room. Skye grabbed Mara and sat down in between May and Phil.

May brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "Jay will be here in a couple of minute's sweetie."

Skye nodded and leaned back against the couch. She liked Jiaying a lot but she didn't really like talking about what happened. She didn't like thinking about it and she didn't know how bringing it back up would help her feel better.

They all watched t.v. until they heard the doorbell ring. She pulled Mara close to her chest and stayed with Phil while May answered the doorbell. She leaned into Phil as she saw Jay walk inside and talk to May for a minute or two before making her way into the living room and greeting everyone.

She looked over to Skye, "Hey Skye, do you want to head up to your room so we can get started?"

She begrudgingly nodded and slid off the couch. She walked over to May and grabbed her hand, "Will you wait in the hallway again?"

May leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Of course sweetie."

The group made their way upstairs and Skye reluctantly let go of May's hand and made her way into her room. She climbed onto her bed and watched Jay drag her desk chair over to her.

Jay situated herself and smiled, "It's nice to see you again Skye. How have you been?"

She shrugged, "I'm okay."

Jay smiled, "That's great to hear. So, is there anything in particular that you'd like to talk about today?"

Skye knew that Jay wanted to talk about the bad thing that had happened but she didn't really want to, so she held up Mara, "I got a new doll. Her name's Mara. Wanda named her for me."

Jay leaned forward and inspected the doll, "That's a very pretty friend you've got there."

Skye pulled Mara closer to her, "Thanks." She paused, "Um, I went to a movie theater today. It was really big."

Jay nodded, "That's great Skye, but maybe we could talk about-"

Skye cut her off, "My dad made me a playground outside. It has a slide and swings and monkey bars."

Jay tilted her head, "That sounds really fun Skye, but-"

Skye interrupted her again, "I saw Bobbi and Hunter earlier. They're Trip's friends and they're really nice. They say that I'm a princess. I like them."

Jay grinned, "That's really great Skye but I know what you're doing honey."

Skye widened her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Jay studied her and was silent for a moment. Skye twiddled her thumbs and waited for her to say something. The older woman uncrossed her legs and stood up, "Why don't we try something different today. Do you have something to color with?"

Skye perked up, "We're going to color?"

Jay nodded and Skye jumped off of her bed and ran over to her desk. She would happily color with Jay instead of talk about what happened to her. She pulled out some paper and her crayons. Jay moved the desk chair back over and motioned for Skye to sit in it. She did and scooted closer to the desk.

She situated herself and looked up to Jay. She wasn't really sure what she wanted her to do. Jay leaned against the wall and smiled at her, "Now, think about what makes you happy. Think really hard and then draw it out, okay? I'm going to go grab a chair real fast and you work on that."

Skye nodded and focused on her piece of paper. She drew her picture and at some point she heard Jay come back into the room and sit next to her. She finished her drawing and looked up to Jay.

The older woman looked it over and smiled, "Can you explain your picture to me?"

Skye nodded and pointed to the figures in the middle, "That's my family, see? There's mommy and daddy and next to them is Trip, Nattie, Wanda and Pietro."

Jay nodded, "They make you really happy?"

Skye smiled, "Yeah, they're the best."

"You like having them around, don't you?"

She grinned and nodded.

Jay pointed to the corner of her paper, "What's that?"

"That's the playground down the street. My friends are right there, see? Jemma and Fitz are playing on the swings and Lincoln is on the slide."

Jay nodded and pointed to the other corner of the table, "And that's a book?"

"Yeah, because it makes me happy when mommy and daddy read to me at night."

Jay smiled, "This is a beautiful picture Skye."

She grinned, "Thanks."

Jay grabbed a clean piece of paper and placed it in front of Skye, "Now, why don't you think about what makes you nervous and draw that out?"

Skye nodded and started drawing. She drew out things that made her nervous, sad, and excited. It was kind of fun. She would go over the picture with Jay and the older woman would ask her questions about certain things. Lastly, Jay asked her to draw out what made her scared.

She finished her drawing and pushed it towards Jay. She studied it and looked over to Skye, "There are a lot of dark colors in this one compared to your happy picture."

Skye shrugged and Jay pointed to the main part of the picture, "What's this Skye?"

She had tried to draw the room that she was kept in with Crazy Cal. The room had 'Daisy' written on a wall and she had drawn a big black blob standing tall with pointy claws for hands. There were giant stick figures facing off with the blob and there was a giant x-mark over the only window in the room and over the door.

She pointed to the big black blob, "That's Crazy Cal."

Jay nodded and smiled encouragingly, "Good Skye. Keep going."

She sighed, "Those are the people in black and they're all really mean and scary, almost as scary as Crazy Cal. He thinks that he's going to be okay because he has his big claws to keep him safe but the people in black are tougher than him, see? He can't leave and run away because the window doesn't work and neither does the door so he's trapped."

Jay nodded sympathetically, "It must be pretty scary to be trapped somewhere you don't want to be, huh?"

Skye nodded and traced the window with her fingertip, "Yeah, it's _very_ scary. You should be able to leave if you want to."

"That's true Skye. If someone feels uncomfortable or unsafe in a certain situation, they should be able to leave or get away."

Skye agreed, "Yeah, they should."

Jay pointed to the black blob, "Why did you color this whole thing in black?"

"Because there weren't any good things about him. He said he was my dad but he took me away and wouldn't let me leave. You said that if you don't like being somewhere, you should be able to leave, but he wouldn't let me. He was bad and he doesn't deserve pretty colors."

Jay tilted her head, "I see. You also colored the room in gray, why's that?"

Skye thought about why she did that, "Because it was bad in there. I didn't like it."

"Did you feel safe in there?"

Skye aggressively shook her head. She _never_ felt safe being in there.

Jay grabbed another clean piece of paper and put it in front of her, "Why don't you draw _your_ house here."

She nodded and grabbed a blue crayon and drew out a square. She added a front porch, the porch swing, and windows before adding a big triangle roof. She even added the mailbox up front. She colored everything in and showed it to Jay.

The older woman looked it over, "This looks great Skye, just like your house. Now, are you safe in this house?"

Skye didn't even hesitate, "Yes."

Jay smiled warmly at her, "Why don't you write that down right here on the roof? Write out that you're safe here and there are no bad people in this house."

She grabbed a red crayon and wrote on the roof. She showed it to Jay, "Can you read it to me Skye?"

She pulled the piece of paper closer to her, "This house is safe and it is a good place to live. There are no bad people in here."

Jay smiled at her, "That's great Skye. I want you to remember this whenever you think about the bad house okay? You aren't in the bad place anymore and you're safe in this house. How about we hang this up on your wall?"

Skye rifled through her drawers until she found some tape and Jay helped her hang up the house and her happy picture on the wall over her desk.

They stepped back and admired her work. Jay leaned towards her and held out her hand, "That's lovely Skye. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today, let's go see your mom."

Skye smiled at her and took her offered hand before leading Jay out of the room.

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Huge thanks to TrooperCam for the awesome idea of using art therapy for Skye! You're awesome :)

Tell me what you guys thought! Thank you so much for reading xx -Ariel


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter. I hope you all like it :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you guys think! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

May was in the same spot that she had been the last time Skye had talked to Jay. She stood up when Skye walked towards her and smiled. Skye let go of Jay's hand and grabbed onto May's, "We colored."

May brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "Well, that sounds like fun sweetie."

She tugged on May's hand, "Do you want to see? I did _really_ good, Jay said so."

She watched May glance over to Jay. Jay nodded and May followed her when she pulled her towards her room. She led them over to her desk and pointed to her wall.

She studied May as the older woman looked at her pictures. She hoped that May liked them. She felt her hope falling away when May stayed silent. She worriedly glanced back at her pictures, maybe she had hung up the wrong ones? No, her happy picture and her house were hanging up above her desk, somewhat askew, but there where she left them.

She started fidgeting a little bit, "You don't like them."

May jerked her heads towards her and Skye saw that her eyes were all watery. Oh god, her pictures were so bad that she made May want to _cry_. Why did Jay lie to her and tell her that they were good? She looked at her feet and grabbed her moon pendant.

She felt a hand on her chin that gently forced her to look up and into May's dark eyes, "No Skye, I love them. I love them so much, they're beautiful."

She started feeling better, "Really?"

May nodded and leaned in to kiss the top of her head, "Really."

Skye watched as May took a step closer to study the drawings. She put her hands on the desk to lean in and slipped on one of Skye's other pictures. She moved her hands and looked at it. Skye moved closer to see which one it was and saw that it was her 'sad' picture.

She helpfully pointed to it, "That's my 'sad' picture."

She pointed out her other ones, "That's my 'nervous' picture, that's my 'excited' picture, and that's my 'scared' picture." She motioned to her 'scared' picture really quickly and then tried to get May's attention back onto her 'excited' picture. It kind of worked.

She saw May stare at the 'scared' drawing for a couple of seconds before giving Jay a look and moving back to studying her 'happy' picture. May put a hand on her shoulder, "These are all great baby. Phil is almost done with dinner. Are you hungry? You didn't eat much at lunch."

She had pretty much given up on trying eating. For the past couple days, she hadn't been able to do it and she wasn't really sure why. When she thought about food she felt hungry but when she went to eat, her tummy wouldn't let her. It was very frustrating and Skye was sick of it.

She shrugged and saw the concerned look that May and Jay gave her. Jay stepped towards her, "Skye, I have a little assignment for you, okay?"

Skye gave her a skeptical look, "Like homework?"

Jay chuckled, "Kind of, but not as hard. Actually, I think you might enjoy it."

"Okay, I guess."

"When you have a particularly strong emotion, like when you're super happy or very angry, sit down and draw it out okay?"

Skye scrunched up her nose, "So… my homework is to just…draw?"

Jay smiled, "Yes, that's it. There's one other thing too."

Skye liked the idea of drawing pictures for homework. She knew that there had to be a catch, "What is it?"

Jay looked over to May and then back to her, "You need to eat your meals Skye." She held up a hand when she saw Skye start to protest, "I know your tummy feels like it doesn't want to eat, but you _need_ to okay? You don't have to eat all of it but you need to eat a portion of every meal. If you do, it'll start conditioning your tummy to start eating again until we deal with your stress, which we will work on the next time I see you, okay?"

She looked over and saw May nodding along. Jay's request wasn't _that_ bad. She didn't have to eat her whole meal, just some of it, so she nodded. May started smiling real big and reached forward to pull Skye closer to her, "Let's go see if Phil needs any help sweetie."

They walked Jay back downstairs and said goodbye before making their way into the kitchen. Phil and Wanda were in there and everyone else was in the living room. Natasha was working on homework while Trip and Pietro were arguing over the remote. May walked up to Phil and she let go of her hand to grab onto his leg. May kissed his cheek, "It smells good babe."

Skye nodded in agreement and Phil bent down to smooth his hand over her head, "Thanks guys, just finishing up the mashed potatoes. The steak's already done."

May moved over to see what Wanda was doing and she stayed with Phil. He kept a hand on the top of her head, "How was talking with Jay?"

"It was good, I got to color."

"That sounds fun sweetie. Maybe you could show me what you drew after dinner."

Skye nodded and hugged herself closer to his leg. She waited patiently as he stirred the boiling potatoes. She looked over and saw Wanda laughing at something that May said and she smiled a little bit.

Phil gently tapped the top of her head, "Gotta head over to the sink sweetie."

She nodded and closely followed him over to the sink. As he strained the potatoes, she walked in a close circle around him, dragging her hand across his knees. He finished at the sink and made to move back to the stovetop when she put her feet on top of his. He looked down at her and wrapped an arm around her back so that she wouldn't fall before he moved back to the countertop.

She circled around him again until he was done making the mashed potatoes and then hopped back onto his feet as he brought everything over to the table. It was fun to try and keep her balance while he walked.

"Alright alright little girl, ride's over." He picked her up and set her on her chair at the table. Everyone else came and sat at the table and grabbed some plates. May pushed a plate her way and helped her cut up her steak.

She stared at her plate and remembered what Jay had said. She scooped up some mashed potatoes and put them in her mouth. She swallowed it even though her tummy wasn't really happy about it.

She ate some more of her mashed potatoes, two forkfuls of steak and half of her salad before setting her fork down and pushing her plate away. She wondered if she ate enough and looked over to May to find out. The older woman nodded at her and smiled before looking back over to Wanda to finish their conversation.

She felt proud of herself for doing the assignment that Jay had given her, even if she did feel a little queasy. May looked back over to her, "Skye, I got a phone call today from Grant's foster parents today. They wanted to know if tomorrow would be a good day for them to bring Grant over after school. What do you think about that?"

Skye straightened up at the mention of Ward. She _really_ wanted to see him and make sure that he was okay, "Yeah, tomorrow's good."

May nodded, "Alright, I'll call them back after dinner. He gets out of school around 2:30 though, so they won't be over until the afternoon."

Skye nodded and looked back to her half-full plate. She felt nervous. Really nervous. She wanted to see Ward but she also didn't at the same time. She didn't know how that was possible but that's how she felt.

She listened to her family talk at the table and then sat on the kitchen counter while they did the dishes and helped by drying some of them off. She still felt pretty nervous about seeing Ward tomorrow and remembered the other part of her assignment from Jay, "Mommy, can I go color?"

May put the last plate away and turned to her, "Sure sweetie. Just for a half hour though alright? Then it's shower time and then bed."

Skye nodded and started to shuffle towards the edge of the counter so that she could jump down but Pietro grabbed her and set her down before she could. She looked up at him and he winked at her, "I love coloring."

Wanda walked up behind him, "Me too."

She looked back to May and the older woman waved them out of the kitchen. Pietro grabbed her hand and they made their way upstairs and into her room. She pulled out some construction paper and markers and handed them to the twins. They all sat down and started drawing on their own respective papers.

She drew out her 'nervous' picture and when she was done, she carefully set it on her desk. It made her feel a little better once she drew out her feelings so she didn't pick up a piece of paper and sat next to Pietro instead. He looked like he was drawing a cartoon, "That looks like the comics in the newspaper that daddy gives me."

Pietro glanced at her, "Thanks, I used to draw comics for my high school's paper."

She pointed at the cartoon puppy on his paper. It was really cute and its tongue was hanging out of his mouth, "I like your doggy."

"You can have it when I'm done, little one. Let me color everything in."

She nodded and eagerly watched him color in his picture with colored pencils rather than markers. How come everyone in this family was good at drawing? She didn't know, but she made a mental note to ask Nattie or Pietro to teach her later.

He finished the picture and handed it to her. She admired the cartoon before grabbing some of her tape and hanging it up above her headboard.

* * *

She had been nervous all day. She had woken up earlier than she usually did and had stared at Phil until he woke up and brought her downstairs to help make breakfast. She had said goodbye to Trip and Nattie before they went to school, played with her dolls with Wanda, made lunch with May, and watched Spongebob with Phil. Now she was sitting on the front porch with May and Phil while the twins had taken the car to go see some friends for a little bit. She was playing with Alice and Mara and anxiously waited for Ward to show up.

She kept jiggling her foot and May kept smoothing a hand over head to help calm her down. It worked a little bit but she still felt nervous.

 _Finally_ , a car pulled into their driveway and Skye hastily stood up and grabbed onto May's hand. A nice looking lady got out of the driver's seat and opened up the backdoor. She saw Grant hop out and lean back in. She wondered what he was doing until she saw a smaller boy slide out of the car. He looked like he was a little younger than she was and he had a smile on his face. May started making her way to the group and Skye gripped her hand and walked a little behind her.

The nice looking lady smiled at them, "Mel! It's so great to see you!"

She leaned in and gave May a quick hug before May said, "It's nice to see you too Jane." She leaned down and held out a hand, "You must be Grant." Ward stared at her hand for a couple of seconds before shaking it and then she turned to the younger boy, "and you must be Thomas."

The little boy enthusiastically shook her hand. She kept her gave averted from Ward's. She felt butterflies in her tummy and she was kind of scared to see his expression when looked at her.

The older woman, Jane, bent down in front of her, "Hello Skye, it's great to meet you."

She tightened her hold on May's hand and waved at Jane with her other one, "Hi."

May gently tugged on her hand, "Well, let's head inside. We've got a really fun playroom that you three can go in."

Thomas started jumping up and down, "Do you have Lego's? I love Lego's."

May nodded and smiled at the little boy, "We sure do."

Thomas started pulling Jane inside and they all went into the house and the grown-ups left them in the playroom. She sat down on the floor and Thomas sat down next to her, "Can I play with your Lego's?"

Skye nodded and pulled the plastic bin over towards him, "Yeah, they're really fun. You should make a really big castle."

Thomas nodded seriously and put his whole focus on the little plastic bricks.

She took a deep breath and finally looked up to see Ward standing by the doorway and staring at her. She couldn't tell what he was feeling because his face was neutral. At lease he wasn't yelling at her. She slowly stood up and made her way over to him, "Hi."

He stared at her for a couple of seconds and Skye fidgeted from foot to foot, "You broke your promise."

Skye sucked in a breath and looked away. She _did_ break her promise but May had said that it was okay to break a promise when someone was being hurt. Even if May was right, she still felt guilty for doing it.

She grabbed onto her moon pendant, "Yeah, I did. I'm really sorry Ward, I-"

He cut her off by holding up a hand. She swallowed thickly and stopped talking. Ward glanced over to Thomas and she followed his gaze. The little boy was smiling and building a tall tower.

She heard Ward say, "It's okay. I should actually thank you, I think."

She jerked back and looked at him. She didn't think that she heard him right, "Um what?"

He turned to her, "Look at my little brother. He's happy and he doesn't have any bruises. We don't have to make our own dinner and we don't get ignored anymore. I don't have to hide him when my older brother is around and we don't have to lie to our teachers. We're both together and safe."

She processed everything that he said. It didn't sound like he was mad but she had to make sure, "So…you aren't mad at me?"

He gave her a tiny smile, "I was at first. I was _really_ mad at you." She swallowed thickly but he continued, "But then Tommy and I got to live together and this family is really nice to us. I guess I just realized that…it was good that you told."

Skye breathed out. It felt like a giant weight lifted off of her shoulders and she could finally breathe properly again, "So, we can still be friends?"

Ward laughed a little, "Yeah, we can be friends."

Skye smiled real big. Ward wasn't mad at her and he still wanted to be friends. She had been nervous over nothing! "Good, because I like playing with you."

He gently pushed her, "Yeah, you're pretty cool too."

She was about to say something when Thomas interrupted them, "Do you guys want to help with the castle? I'm thinking about adding some blocks to make it bigger."

Grant walked over and sat down by Thomas. He motioned for her to join them and she grinned before sitting by him, "We have blocks over there. Let's see how tall we can make a tower before it falls over."

Grant smiled at her before grabbing some blocks and handing them to her.

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What'd you guys think? Leave a review and let me know! If you have a prompt you'd like to see in the one-shot collection, you can send it to me here or on my tumblr page :)

Thank you so much for reading! You guys are the bomb dot com. xx -Ariel


	37. Chapter 37

**Hey guys! I just want to tell you that all the prompts that I've been recieving, even the ones in the comment section, I've been writing down and _will_ be writing out. If I can't fit them into this fic, they will definitely be in the one-shot collection! If you have a cool idea or suggestion that you want to see happen in this universe, send me a prompt either on here or on my tumblr page and I'll make it happen! **

**Here's the new chapter, I hope you like it. As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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When Skye woke up the next morning, she was relieved that she had only had one nightmare during the night. Phil had calmed her down and told her a silly story before she had fallen back asleep. She stretched out and fished around for Rapunzel in the bed. Mara and Alice were keeping each other company back in her bed and she had slept with Rapunzel because she felt bad about ignoring her in favor of Mara.

She grabbed the doll and looked from side to side and saw that May and Phil were still sleeping. She had asked them if she could sleep with them again last night and they had let her. She was glad that they hadn't forced her to sleep in her own bed. She held Rapunzel in front of her face and stared up at her.

Yesterday had been pretty fun. She had played with Ward and Thomas for an hour or two before they had to leave. They had begged their parents to set up another play date for them and the grown-ups had laughed and promised to do so. Natasha and Trip had come home and had played outside on the new playground with her until Wanda and Pietro got back. Then they all went into the playroom and had played Mario Bro's until dinner time. Skye had forced herself to eat half of her meal and that had made May really happy. She hadn't had to talk to Jay, she wasn't supposed to come back over until Sunday, and Skye was kind of happy about that. She bet Jemma didn't have to talk to a therapist. It had been a good day.

She didn't know if today was going to be a good day because Wanda and Pietro had to leave. They had explained to her yesterday that they had to fly back to Europe to join their school group. She didn't want them to leave her, she loved them.

She pulled Rapunzel back to her chest and sat up. She slowly crawled to the end of the bed and slid off of it before tiptoeing down the hall. Quietly, she stopped in front of Nattie's door and twisted the doorknob. She poked her head inside. It was pretty dark in the room and Skye quietly made her way towards the bed. Nattie was lying on her side facing Wanda who was sprawled out on her back with an arm over her head.

She slowly climbed onto the bed and sat down between the two. She stared at Wanda's sleeping face. She didn't want her to leave today.

Wanda groaned and shifted. Skye leaned over her, "Are you waking up?"

Her sister opened an eye and looked at her, "I guess so."

Skye sat back, "Okay, good."

Wanda rolled over and motioned her forward. Skye crawled over and laid down next to her. She rested her head against Wanda's chest and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Wanda said, "What's up buttercup?"

Skye looked up, "I don't want you and Pietro to go away."

Wanda combed her fingers through Skye's hair and whispered back, "Me neither."

"If you don't want to, then don't leave."

Wanda softly chuckled, "School costs a _lot_ , I have to go back little one. But the semester is over in about a month and a half and then we'll be back for a whole month and we can have fun together."

Skye nodded even though she was still sad, "Okay. I'll miss you."

She jumped a little when she heard a groggy voice speak up from behind her, "Me too."

She twisted around in Wanda's arms and looked over. Natasha was rubbing her eyes and stretching her legs out. She looked over to the bedside table and whipped back around, "Oh my god, it's 6:30 in the morning. It's Saturday and it's 6:30 in the morning and my eyes are open. What's going on?"

Wanda chuckled, "Go back to sleep Nat."

Nattie groaned again and sat up, "I can't, I'm awake now. Besides, I don't wanna miss the sister pow-wow you've got going on here." She focused on Skye, "Where'd this little monkey come from?"

Skye shrugged, "Mommy and daddy are still sleeping."

Nat nodded, "How did you and Rapunzel sleep?"

She handed Rapunzel over to Nattie, "Good. Rapunzel missed Alice and Mara though."

Natasha took the doll and talked to her, "It's okay Rapunzel."

She sat up and Wanda followed her, "Skye, did you say dad was still sleeping?"

She nodded and reached over to take Rapunzel away from Nattie and tucked her under her arm. She watched Wanda smile and gave her a look.

Wanda spoke up, "Let's make breakfast. Dad always makes it for us."

Skye nodded immediately, she always helped make breakfast anyways, and Natasha contemplated it, "Yeah, but only if I don't have to make the bacon. I always get burned when I do that."

Wanda nodded, "Whatever, I'll do that. Let's go."

Natasha groaned, "I hate waking up." She threw the covers off her legs and got out of bed anyways.

She and Wanda followed suit and went to the kitchen. She helped Wanda make pancakes while Nattie cut up some fruit. They put smiley-faces in the pancakes with chocolate chips and Natasha made her phone start to play some music. She didn't know the words to the song, but she giggled with Wanda used the spatula to serenade Nattie.

She sat on the counter and tried to braid Natasha's hair while Wanda made the bacon. She wasn't very good at braiding, not as good as Nattie was, but it was still fun to try.

The bacon was almost done when she heard footsteps coming towards them. Natasha shook the haphazard braids out of her hair and moved to sit on the counter next to Skye.

She heard Phil's voice from the living room, "Hey guys, have you seen Skye?" He walked into the kitchen and spotted her, "There she is."

Skye smiled and waved at him. He glanced around the kitchen and Natahsa turned off the music, "Did you guys…make breakfast?"

Skye nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, Nattie was too afraid to do the bacon though, so Wanda did it."

Natasha turned to her, "I wasn't afraid Skye, I just didn't want to suffer bodily harm."

"Oh, sorry Nattie."

Natasha wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "No problem маленькая звезда."

She grinned and watched as Phil walked outside to grab the newspaper. He came back inside and waved it towards her, "Comics?"

She nodded and he picked her up from the counter and brought her over to the table. She read the comics while Wanda finished the bacon and then they brought everything to the table. She made herself eat half of her plate, it was becoming routine, and talked to Wanda about her adventures in Europe. Soon enough everyone was sitting at the table. Skye had voiced her astonishment at Pietro and Trip being up this early but Phil told her that they had to leave to go to the airport in two hours and they still needed to pack.

They finished breakfast and she followed Wanda and Natasha back up to their room and watched her pack. May came in after she got dressed and chatted with them. Skye felt sad watching her sister pack but her family wouldn't let her dwell on it. They kept talking to her and cracking jokes. Wanda asked her to sit on her suitcase because it wouldn't shut and then she and Nattie helped her pick out some clothes and do her hair.

Phil hustled them all out the door and into the car. Skye was grateful for the extra rows of seats in the car otherwise it would be too crowded. Pietro sat beside her and sang Disney songs with her. He held her hand and she tried to stop being sad so that she could be happy that the twins were still here for now.

They parked in the parking garage at the airport. Even though it was daytime, it was dim in there and Skye didn't really like it. Phil helped her out of the car and she raised her arms and jumped up and down until he caught her and placed her on his hip.

They made their way through the parking garage and Skye glanced around nervously, "I don't like it in here."

Phil rubbed her back and Wanda held her suitcase with her other hand so that she could hold Skye's with the other one. They stepped into an elevator and Skye felt better once the scary parking lot disappeared behind the elevator doors. They got out of the elevator, walked into the building, and waited in a line. Phil said it was so that Wanda and Pietro could check their luggage in and get their boarding passes. He set her down so that he could help handle the bags and she ran over to May and latched onto her leg. There were too many people in here and she didn't like it. They were all rushing around and kept bumping into each other. May ran her fingers through Skye's hair and it helped her feel better.

Phil finished up and they all started walking towards the escalator. Skye clenched May's pant leg between both fists. May stopped and stooped down to pick Skye up before hurrying after the rest of their family. They all rode up the escalator and Skye thought about asking to be put down so that she could ride up it by herself but she felt safe with May and didn't want to risk it.

They walked for a pretty long time and the closer people got to her, the tighter she wrapped her arms around May's neck. May kept one arm wrapped around her while the other one pulled her around so that they were face to face, "Are you okay?"

She just nodded, put her head on May's shoulder, and pressed her face into her neck so that she couldn't see all the people around her.

After a minute or two, she felt May stop walking and looked up. There were a bunch of people in lines, putting their things in plastic bins and walking through giant rectangles. She gave May a questioning look and the older woman shifted her a little, "This is as far as we can go."

Skye made a distressed sound, "What? No!"

She wiggled around until May set her down and ran over to Wanda, "Don't leave Wanda, I don't want you to go!" She threw her arms around Wanda's waist and pressed her face against her tummy. She held on tight and hoped that by doing that, Wanda and Pietro wouldn't be able to leave. She didn't think it would work but she hoped nonetheless.

She felt arms wrap around her and heard Wanda speak up, "I have to leave little one, I'm sorry."

She felt tears well up in her eyes and couldn't stop them from trickling down her face. She shook her head and felt Wanda gently push her back and crouch down in front of her, "I'm sorry Skye but we have to go. I wish you could come with us."

Skye quickly ran a hand over her face, "But you're my family and family isn't supposed to leave each other!"

She saw Pietro move over and crouch down beside Wanda, "We _are_ your family Skye and us being away from each other won't change that, okay? That'll never change."

Skye sniffled and looked over to him, "What if you're gone so long that you forget about me?"

Pietro breathed out a laugh and pulled her in for a hug, "That will _never_ happen."

She felt Wanda reach over and rub her back, "Yeah, it's not like we'll never speak again. We're going to school, not jail. We can talk on the phone all the time and arrange video chats. We'll be back before you know it."

She stepped out of Pietro's hug and looked over to her, "Do you promise?"

She held out a pinky and waited for Wanda to take it. Her sister grinned at her and intertwined their pinkies, "Yes, I promise."

Wanda leaned in and kissed her cheek and Pietro brushed the tears off her cheeks. She sniffled, "Okay, I'll miss you though."

Pietro pushed her hair behind her shoulder and tapped her nose, "I'll miss you too little one."

She saw Wanda hastily wipe her eyes and the twins both stood up. She tried to stop crying but couldn't. She stepped back and watched as everyone else said goodbye. Wanda tried to look like she wasn't crying but Skye knew that she was. She ignored it to try and make her feel better. Everyone looked really sad and she didn't like it. She hugged Wanda and Pietro one more time and watched as they slowly made their way through security.

She leaned back against Phil's legs and watched them walk through the giant rectangle and grab their things from the bin. They turned back and smiled at them, waved, and then disappeared. She grabbed onto her moon pendant and held back her sob.

She felt Phil reach down and put both hands on her shoulders. She looked up and saw him staring at her, "Are you alright Skye?"

She shrugged her shoulders. He leaned down and picked her up and hugged her close. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and put her head on her shoulder. He rubbed her back and she felt him start to walk away. She looked over and saw May walking beside them and she reached out a hand. May took it and held it tightly and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

* * *

Skye woke up when Phil gently pulled her out of her booster seat. She blinked a couple of times and squinted in the sunlight. The last thing she remembered was watching the cars go by out of her window in the car. She should've known she'd have fallen asleep. Crying always made her tired.

She let Phil carry her inside and didn't say anything when he set her down on the couch. She watched t.v. with Nattie and Trip until it was dinnertime and then she forced herself to eat. She could only eat a quarter of her meal rather than half of it. She felt bad because of that.

After dinner, May took her upstairs and sat with her while she showered. She had been pretty quiet since they left the airport. Maybe May didn't like talking when she was upset. Skye could understand that.

She got out of the shower, put on her pajamas and followed May into her room. She grabbed Mara and turned around so that May could detangle her hair.

She still felt pretty sad that Wanda and Pietro were gone. She looked over to her desk and saw her crayons sitting in a messy pile on it, "Can I color?"

May kept running a comb through her hair, "Sure sweetie, I'm almost done."

When she finished, Skye walked over to her desk and started drawing. May watched her from the bed. She glanced over, "Are you sad too?"

May nodded, "Yes, I miss them when they're gone but I know that they're happy where they are. That makes me feel better."

Skye nodded and held out a blank piece of paper, "You can draw a 'sad' picture if you want to."

May walked over and took the sheet of paper from Skye, "I think I will sweetie."

May picked her up and sat down at the desk chair before placing Skye on her lap and grabbing a green crayon. They both colored for a little while and when Skye finished her drawing, she sat back and looked at it. May glanced over to it and pointed to the prominent figure in the middle, "What's that baby?"

Skye pulled it closer and traced the figure lying on the ground, "The person is so sad and upset that they pass out. That's what it's called right? When you can't breathe right and then you go to sleep?"

"Yeah, it's also called fainting." May gave her a worried look, "How do you know about that Skye? Did you see it on t.v.?"

She kept tracing her picture, "No, I did it once."

May placed a kiss to the top of her head, "That must have been pretty scary baby. When did it happen?"

She paused and pushed herself further into May, "When I was in the room and he was talking to me… I was getting upset and I think I had a panic attack like at school that one day. I don't know, but I couldn't breathe and you weren't there to help me so I guess I just passed out. It wasn't very fun."

She started tracing her finger over her drawing again but flinched when May's fist came down on the desk. It made her pink lamp fall over and she scrambled off of May's lap. When she looked over to her, May's eyes were squeezed shut and she was breathing fast. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and low. It was kind of scary, "He did that to you? He made you feel so panicked that you couldn't breathe and passed out?!"

She didn't say anything but she felt something wet hit her check and realized that she was crying. She held Mara to her chest and backed up until her back hit the wall. She had never seen May like this. She was _mad_. May had never been mad before and s _he_ had made her that way.

May raised her hand to her head and Skye couldn't stop the whimper that escaped her. May's eyes snapped open and her whole demeanor shifted, "Oh god, Skye I'm not mad at you. I'm never mad at you." She got up from the chair and Skye stood still as she slowly approached her.

May gave her a pained look and sat down on the floor in a couple of steps in front of her, "I'm sorry Skye, I didn't mean… I shouldn't have reacted that way." May ran a hand through her hair and let out a frustrated breath. Skye forced her tears to stop and wiped her face.

May kept talking, "I'm not mad at you baby, I swear. I'm mad at _him_ for what he did, for what he put you through… And I'm mad at _myself_. I couldn't keep you safe. I couldn't…I couldn't _do_ anything. You were missing and I couldn't do anything to help you, you were by yourself and you needed me and I couldn't help you. I'm sorry Skye."

Skye stared at her. May's shoulders were hunched but she was looking at her desperately. Her eyes were all watery again and Skye couldn't believe that May felt that way. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around May's neck and collapsed on top of her. May hugged her back tightly and combed her fingers through her damp hair, "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to scare you."

Skye pressed her face into May's shoulder and whispered, "It's okay."

May leaned back and shook her head, "It isn't okay, you should never be afraid of Phil and I. I should have never responded that way and I want you to know that I'll try to never do that again. I want you to know that you're safe around us and don't have to be scared."

May sounded serious so Skye nodded seriously, "I already know that mommy."

May kind of looked like she was going to cry again but Skye pretended not to see, just like she did at the airport with Wanda. May rubbed her back, "I love you sweetie. To the moon and back-"

Skye finished for her, "More than all the stars in the sky."

May's lips tugged up into a small smile and pulled Skye closer to her for another hug.

* * *

What'd you guys think? silverliningineachcloud wanted to see a scene where Skye told May about her fainting. I hope you like it!

Thank you so much for reading and an extra thank you to everyone who takes the time to follow, favorite, and review this fic. It honestly still surprises me how many people read it. Thank you! :D xx -Ariel


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey guys! I've been making a list of all the prompts that you've been sending in and am going to start writing them out. Keep em coming! You can submit them on here or on my tumblr page!**

 **Thank you so much for reading! xx**

* * *

"Skye? How do you feel about starting school tomorrow? What do you think about that?"

Jay was staring at her intently and Skye tried to focus on her drawing. She was sitting at her desk and Jay was sitting beside her. She was absentmindedly coloring and talking to Jay at the same time. She had been avoiding this question. She didn't want to go to school. Knowing that her friends were waiting to see her made her kind of want to go back, but not enough to override the anxiety she felt when she thought about being left at school. That was where Crazy Cal had taken her.

She tilted her head and determinedly stared at her paper, "I don't want to go."

She saw Jay lean towards her from the corner of her eye, "Why don't you want to. Remember what we talked about earlier? Let's try to use our words."

Skye nodded and grabbed a blue crayon to color in her sky, "Sorry, I don't want to because the bad thing happened there."

"Thank you for using your words. Do you think another bad thing will happen if you go back there?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I want to stay here with my mom and dad. It's safe here."

Jay nodded, "I know you do but you can't hide at home forever Skye. There are so many beautiful things to see in the world."

Skye nodded absently and kept coloring. Jay tried again, "When you think about going to school, what do you feel?"

Skye set her crayon down and looked over to Jay, "I don't know. A bunch of feelings. It's not mad or sad, I don't know what it's called."

Jay looked like she was thinking about something, "Does it make you feel uneasy?"

Skye gave her a questioning look and Jay grinned a little, "That means uncomfortable and restless."

She thought about it. She felt _kind_ of uncomfortable but there was more to it than that, "Maybe a little bit but there's other stuff too."

Jay nodded, "How about… apprehensive?"

That sounded like a really big word and she did not know what it meant, "What's that mean?"

"It's when you're afraid and nervous that something bad could happen to you. For example, _I_ feel apprehensive when I go on airplanes because I'm scared and nervous that it'll crash."

Skye rolled the new word around in her mouth. The definition that Jay had given her pretty much summed up what she was feeling, "Yes, I feel app…apprehensive."

She picked her crayon back up and started coloring again. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jay lean back in her seat, "It's okay to feel like that Skye. You're emotions are valid and understandable, but remember what I said earlier? About allowing yourself to be afraid but also knowing that you're not in any real danger?"

Skye nodded and Jay continued, "If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed tomorrow, just practice the three steps that I taught you and remind yourself that you are not in any danger, alright?"

Skye finished her picture and looked it over, "Okay." She pushed her picture away and looked over to Jay, "I _really_ have to go?"

Jay gave her a sympathetic look, "Yes, don't you miss your friends?"

Skye couldn't help but smile at the thought of Jemma, Fitz, and Lincoln, "Yeah, it's been _forever_ since I saw them last." Her smile slipped off her face when a thought crossed her mind, "What do I tell them?"

"You can tell them whatever you want Skye. If telling them something makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to say it, no matter how many times they ask you. If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. Your friends should respect that. If you _do_ want to tell them what happened, then it's perfectly fine to do that. This is all up to you Skye."

Skye grabbed onto her moon pendant and thought about what Jay said. She knew that Jemma and Fitz would probably ask a lot of questions, that's just how they were. She wondered it Jay was right. She wondered if she decided to tell them nothing that they would respect that. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet, but she hoped that her friends would be okay with whatever she decided.

She grabbed another piece of paper and started drawing a smiley face, "Okay. Do you think they'll still like me?"

Jay put a gentle hand on her paper and Skye looked over to her, "Skye, you've been through a lot and that might have changed you a little bit, but deep down, you're still you. I think that they would be pretty dumb if they didn't like you anymore."

Skye grinned a little. If Jay knew her friends, she would know that they aren't dumb. Not even close. She kept coloring, "Okay."

She saw Jay cross her legs, "Did your mommy and daddy talk to you about school tomorrow?"

Skye nodded and Jay said, "What did they tell you?"

She set down her crayon, "They said that we were going to go in early to talk to Ms. Hill and that if I got too scared throughout the day they will come get me, but they want me to try and stay at school all day."

She looked up from her picture and saw Jay nodding at her, "Good. I want you to try and stay at school all day. If you start to feel overwhelmed, try your exercises. If that doesn't help, then it's alright for you to call your parents, okay?"

Skye nodded and Jay smiled at her, "I think that's all we have time for."

She threw all her crayons into her box and stood up. May and Phil were waiting for her out in the hallway and she ran out to meet them.

* * *

Skye woke up when she felt the bed shift. She rubbed her eyes and saw Phil getting out of bed. He glanced back and saw her. He gave her an apologetic look, "I didn't mean to wake you."

She just shook her head, sat up, and reached for him. He picked her up and she set her head on his shoulder and felt him carry her out of the room. She knew he was heading for the kitchen and shut her eyes.

She hadn't realized she fell back asleep until she woke up when the toast popped out of the toaster. She was still in Phil's arms. He was supporting her with one arm, swaying gently from side to side, and taking the toast out of the toaster. He was like a superhero.

She rubbed her eyes, "I don't want to go to school."

Phil set the toast on a plate and ran his hand over her head, "I know sweetie, but you need to."

She put her head back on his shoulder, "I know."

She stayed with him while he made breakfast and refused to be put down when he tried to set her on the counter. There was a large knot taking root in her tummy and she told herself that she was just going to school. She would be able to see her friends and she told herself that she _liked_ it there. She went over what Jay had told her: that she wasn't in any danger, that she was in control, that she could call her parents if it felt like too much, and it helped her feel better.

May came into the kitchen and spotted them. She walked over and grabbed Skye out of Phil's arms, "I need a hug from my baby."

Skye wrapped herself around May, "Why?"

May leaned back and looked at her, "I just want to. Do I need a reason?"

Skye shook her head and hugged herself closer to May. She heard May start talking to Phil and she let their voices wash over her and help her relax.

They finished making breakfast and sat down at the table. Skye stayed in May's arms and pulled her plate closer to her. She didn't feel like eating. Since she had gotten her assignment from Jay, she had found that it had gotten easier and easier to eat, but today she didn't think that she could do it. She stared at it and felt May gently pat her thigh, "Are you going to eat sweetie?"

Skye reluctantly picked up a piece of toast and stared at it, "I'm not hungry."

She felt May comb her fingers through her hair, "Why don't you try? Remember what Jay said?"

Skye nodded and bit off a small piece of toast. She chewed and forced herself to swallow it before setting the rest of the toast back onto her plate. May pushed her glass of orange juice towards her and Skye grabbed it and took a few sips before pushing it back. She looked over to Phil and saw that he looked worried but he didn't say anything.

For the next couple of minutes, May encouraged her to eat little pieces of her meal. Skye would force them down her throat because it made May happy and she knew that she should probably eat. After another bite of toast and three strawberries, she shook her head. Her tummy wasn't very happy.

She felt May press a kiss to the top of her head and sat in silence while her parents finished their breakfasts. She heard footsteps coming towards them and saw Natasha rubbing her eyes. May spoke up, "You're up earlier than usual."

Natasha shrugged and sat down, "Yeah well, don't tell yourself that it'll be fine if you finish your homework in the morning. I've been up since five."

She heard Phil laugh, "Did you finish it?"

Natasha threw him a dirty look, "Yeah, but at what cost dad?" Her sister looked around, "Can I have some coffee?"

Phil stood up and grabbed his empty plate, "Yeah, grab yourself some decaf."

Nattie groaned, "Dad, come _on_." She followed him into the kitchen and Skye could hear her bugging him about coffee.

Skye couldn't help but grin as she looked up. May smiled down at her at stood up with Skye in her arms, "We have to get dressed if we're going to get to school early." Skye nodded and she watched as May turned to the kitchen, "Phil!"

She heard him shout back, "Yeah I know!"

May led her upstairs and she got dressed. She put on her new boots because they made her feel tough and like she could be brave today. May put Skye's hair into two braids and helped her get her backpack ready before sending her back downstairs so that she could go get ready. Skye hung out with Natasha who was sitting on the couch, aggressively flipping through a notebook, "What're you doing?"

Natasha didn't look up from her notes, "Math test today. My teacher is a sadist."

Skye scrunched up her face, "What does that mean?"

Nattie kept flipping through her notes, "What?"

"What does sadist mean?"

Natasha finally looked up, "Oh. Um, just know that it isn't a good thing. Don't tell mom I said it around you."

Skye nodded and sat back to watch her sister frantically flip through her notes. Nat was working through a problem when she sighed deeply, shut her notebook, and shoved it into her backpack, "This is useless." She looked over to Skye, "You excited about going back to school?"

Skye shrugged.

Nattie scooted closer to her, "You get to see your friends again. That should be fun."

Skye nodded, "Yeah, I missed them."

Natasha put an arm around her shoulders, "Just focus on having fun today at school. When you get home, we can play on your new playground together."

Skye nodded and leaned into her sister. She would focus on having fun at school. She _was_ excited to see her friends again but she wasn't excited to be so far away from May and Phil.

Her parents finally came downstairs and they all said goodbye to Natasha before getting into the car and heading to school. Skye nervously sang along to the songs in the car and stared out the window. Phil and May were talking softly in the front seat and Skye couldn't really hear what they were saying.

They parked in the school parking lot and Phil helped her get out of her booster seat. She slid out of the car, stood between her parents, and grabbed onto their hands. They made their way into the school and Skye gripped their hands tighter. She kind of expected the school to seem scary, especially after what happened here, but it was the same as it always was. It was brightly lit and had art on the hallway walls and didn't look scary at all.

They walked into Ms. Hill's room and saw her leaning over her desk. She looked up when they walked in and hastily stood up, "Hey guys, good morning."

May and Phil said hello and Skye waved. Ms. Hill made her way over to them and she looked kind of nervous. She kept wringing her hands and brushing her hair away from her face. Her teacher stopped in front of her and crouched down a little, "Hey Skye."

"Hi, Ms. Hill."

Ms. Hill breathed in deeply before standing up and smiling, "Why don't you set your stuff down on your desk?"

Skye nodded and went to put her stuff away. When she came back, she heard May say, "I promise Maria, we don't blame you. You couldn't have known that the _one_ time you had a meeting, something bad would happen."

Ms. Hill nodded and Skye walked up to May and grabbed her hand again. Her teacher motioned for them to sit down in front of her desk and they all did so. Instead of sitting in the empty seat to the right of May, she clambered into her lap, grabbed her mom's hands, and wrapped them around her waist.

Ms. Hill situated herself in front of them and looked at her, "I'm happy you're back Skye. We've all missed you in class."

Skye nodded. She had missed class too.

Ms. Hill grinned, "It's a good day today too because we're teaming up with the cafeteria workers and are going to be making green eggs and ham, like it the storybook."

Skye perked up, "How do you make eggs green?"

Ms. Hill leaned forward, "We'll have to find out in class now won't we?"

She felt her lips tug up into a small smile and leaned back against May. Ms. Hill sat back as well, glanced at her parents, and then looked back to her, "Do you have any questions?"

She _did_ have one question. She grabbed her moon pendant and looked up at May. Her mom nodded encouragingly at her so she took a deep breath before turning back to her teacher, "Um… Can I… Can I stay with you at recess?"

Ms. Hill gave her a gentle smile, "Of course you can. We'll figure out something fun to do."

Skye let out a sigh of relief and nodded. She saw Phil sit up straight out of the corner of her eye, "We just want to know that if Skye needs us, she'll be able to contact us."

May combed a hand through her hair, "Yeah, she's been doing _very_ well but in case something happens, we would like to know as soon as possible."

Ms. Hill was nodding along to what they were saying, "Of course. If Skye needs you, she'll be able to get to you. I have a phone here in the class as well as my cell phone. She'll be able to reach you."

May kept stroking her hair, "Hear that? If you need us, just ask Ms. Hill alright?"

She nodded and Ms. Hill handed Phil some papers, "Here are some worksheets that Skye should complete at home. We went through two more letters this past week and worked on our subtraction."

Phil turned to her, "Piece of cake. I'm _great_ at subtraction. We can work through this together."

Skye scrunched up her nose. She hated homework.

Phil reached forward and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, "Sorry sweetie, you gotta do your homework so you can be smart and become a super secret spy."

She blew her hair out of her face, "I don't want to be a spy daddy, I want to be queen of the _whole_ _world_."

Phil laughed, "Well you have to be smart to be queen of the world too."

That made sense, so she gave a sigh of defeat and pressed herself closer to May. Ms. Hill smiled at her, "Kids should start walking in in about ten minutes, so maybe you should start saying goodbye. I'll wait outside."

Her teacher stood up, smiled at all of them, and walked outside. She kept the door open and she heard her start talking to the teacher across the hall.

May set her on the ground and she and Phil both stood up. She latched onto May's leg, "Don't leave me."

May put a hand on the top of her head, "I'm sorry baby but we can't stay."

Skye felt her eyes well up with tears and she held on tighter, "I don't want you to go."

She felt May shift and suddenly she was being hauled up and into her arms. May held her so that they were face to face and she saw Phil move over and put a hand on her back.

May looked at her seriously and Skye focused on looking into her eyes because that was what you did when someone was having a serious conversation with you, "Skye, I know that it's a little scary to come back here, but you're very safe. You're going to have a lot of fun with your friends today. And you get to make green eggs and ham! I'm kind of jealous."

Skye wrapped her arms around May's neck, "You can stay and make it with me."

May leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "That's a very nice offer but we can't sweetie, you know that."

Skye _did_ know that. That didn't mean she liked it one bit.

The tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally spilled over, "But I don't want to stay here! Can't we go home? I want to go home."

She watched as May gave Phil a helpless look and he stepped closer so that his face was in her line of sight, "You need to stay in school sweetheart. You _like_ school remember? All your friends are here and you love hanging out with them." He held a palm against her cheek, "If you need us, you tell Ms. Hill alright?"

Skye sniffled and nodded. May shifted her so that she could wipe away Skye's tears and press a kiss to her damp cheek, "You'll be fine baby. And remember, I love you to the moon and back-"

Skye finished for her, "More than all the stars in the sky."

May nodded and smiled at her, "Forever."

Skye leaned in and hugged her tight. May squeezed her tightly and Skye shut her eyes for a couple of seconds and breathed in her flowery scent. She leaned back and felt a little better. She reached over to Phil and made grabby hands. He plucked her out of May's arms and held her close for a hug. He smoothed a hand over her hair and whispered, "You'll be fine sweetheart, I know you will."

Skye nodded and took a deep breath. She was going to be fine, everyone kept saying so. She told herself to be brave, leaned back, and tried to smile at him. He kissed her forehead and set her down. She straightened out her clothes and let out a breath.

Her parents smiled at her and leaned down for one more hug before making their way out the door. They paused at the doorway and turned back to her. May blew her a kiss and said, "Have a wonderful day sweetheart. We'll see you at pickup time."

Skye nodded and waved at them. She watched them disappear out the door and down the hallway. She would be fine. She kept repeating that in her head and hoped that it would be true.

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What'd you guys think?

Thank you so much for reading! And an extra thank you to everyone who had followed, favorited, or reviewed this fic. Ya'll make me so happy :) xx -Ariel


	39. Chapter 39

**Hey guys! I just wanted to let you all know that there will probably be only a couple more chapters in this fic. It is waayy longer than I ever expected it to be! Also, I've been writing down all the prompts you've been sending me and if they don't make it into the fic, they will definitely be in the one-shot collection, so keep sending me more! You can submit them either on here or on my tumblr page :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and I hope you like this chapter! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye was only in the classroom alone for a minute or two before kids started trickling in. First came Gracie, whose arm was now in a cast. She walked over to Skye and asked if she wanted to sign it so Skye grabbed a marker and wrote her name down. Writing on casts was harder than she thought it would be. Then some other kids walked inside. They all said hi but then went to their respective desks and started putting their things away so she said hi back and then ignored them.

Skye felt herself grow more nervous the longer it took her friends to arrive so she sat down and started doodling in one of her notebooks. After a couple of minutes, she heard the chair at the desk next to her scrape back and knew that Lincoln was there. She took a deep breath and looked over to him. He was staring at her.

She set her pencil down and tried to smile at him, "Hi."

He dropped his backpack onto the ground, "Hey."

He studied her for a couple more seconds before he grabbed his back and started to put his things away, "You were gone all week. You missed two letters."

"Yeah, Ms. Hill gave me worksheets to take home and work on."

Lincoln gave her a sympathetic look, "That's a lot of homework."

Skye could feel her tension start to melt away. Lincoln hadn't said anything about what had happened and he was treating her like he usually did, so maybe everything _was_ going to be alright. She felt her fake smile turn into a real one, "I know. My dad said he'd help me though. He says I have to be smart if I want to become queen of the world."

Lincoln gave her a look that clearly said she was crazy, "You can't be queen of the whole world!"

She turned in her seat so she was fully facing him, "Watch me."

He considered that and grinned at her, "Can I be king of the world?"

Skye thought about it. Lincoln was nice and it would be fun to rule the world together, "Okay, but you have to do everything I say. I'm going to be in charge."

Lincoln nodded seriously, "Okay. What are your rules going to be?"

Skye scrunched up her nose, "Rules?"

Lincoln gave her an exasperated look, "Yeah, if you're going to rule the world, you need to have some rules for people to follow. If they break the rules, they have to go to jail."

Skye hadn't thought about that. She thought off the top of her head, "Well my first rule is that all parents have to let their kids have ice cream _before_ dinner."

Lincoln laughed, "That's a good one. My mom doesn't let me do that."

Skye shook her head, "Mine doesn't either. My next rule would be… no more homework! Ever."

Lincoln smiled at her and for the next couple of minutes they both came up with their own set of rules for when they took over the world. Skye felt herself relaxing. Maybe everyone was right and she would be fine at school. She still missed her parents, but she would see them in a little while. She started to feel sad when she thought about how far away she was from them but then she made herself focus on her conversation with Lincoln and she forgot to feel sad.

Lincoln had started to write down their list of rules and they already had fifteen done before she heard someone calling her name. She looked over and saw Jemma and Fitz pushing their way over to her. She smiled at them and waited for them to get close enough before saying, "Hey guys."

Jemma gave her a disbelieving look, "Hey guys? You were gone, like, all week!"

Fitz nodded along, "Yeah, Jemma's mom told us what happened."

Jemma pulled a chair over and sat down by her, "Yeah, it was super scary! We went to go see if Gracie was alright and you were just gone! I was so worried about you."

Skye felt herself start to tense up again. She had hoped that Jemma and Fitz would have reacted like Lincoln had, but it was becoming obvious that that wouldn't happen. Skye tried to say something, maybe to change the subject or tell them she was alright, but they wouldn't let her get a word in.

Fitz had pulled up a chair and he and Jemma were both talking so quickly. Fitz said, "Were you scared?"

Jemma elbowed him, "Of course she was scared Fitz! She was kidnapped!"

"Well you don't have to yell at me Jemma. Besides, I wasn't asking you now was I?"

"I'm just saying that that was a dumb question." Jemma turned back to her, "What happened? My mom said that the police had to come and get you."

Fitz eyes lit up when Jemma brought up the police, "Were they wearing their uniforms? Did you get to ride in a police car?"

Skye didn't want to think about what happened to her, she just wanted to focus on making it through this school day and her two friends weren't making it easy. She desperately looked over to Lincoln and he nodded at her, "Guys!"

Jemma and Fitz both stopped talking and looked over to him, "Skye's fine, see? And I don't think she wants to talk about what happened okay? Imagine if _you_ were taken by some stranger."

She watched as Jemma and Fitz stayed silent for a couple of seconds and then turned to her. She prepared herself for another onslaught of questions but that didn't happen. Instead, Jemma's face crumpled and she said, "I'm sorry Skye, we didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, we just want to know if you're alright."

Skye breathed in deeply and made sure that she had calmed down before saying, "Yeah, I'm alright. But I have a bunch of homework that I have to make up, so that is kind of dumb."

Just like that, the topic changed. Jemma and Fitz took Lincoln's gentle warning to heart and didn't bring up what happened again. Skye was eternally grateful for that.

They had story time on the reading rug and then did their math and history lesson before they got released for lunch. Skye stayed close to Ms. Hill when they all walked down the hallway and into the cafeteria but her teacher didn't seem to mind and her friends didn't ask why. She tried to eat half of the lunch that Phil packed for her but she couldn't. When Fitz asked for her goldfish, she gave them to him, and when Lizzie asked if she wanted the other half of her sandwich, Skye eagerly gave it to her. She felt bad for not eating all of her lunch.

They all went back to the classroom and did their reading and writing lesson. They worked on a different letter, W, and wrote down a bunch of words that began with it. Skye thought that W's were easy to learn because they couldn't trick you and become silent, not like the 'K' in know or the 'B' in dumb. W's were easy because they didn't try to trick you and Skye appreciated that about the letter.

Before recess, when they were working on their reading lesson, Skye spent fifteen minutes with Ms. Hill for one-on-one time. They both sat next to each other at a table that was a little excluded from the rest of the class. Ms. Hill would point out words and Skye would sound it out to her. It wasn't going very well. Skye wasn't a good reader.

She sighed and threw her hands up in the air, "This is impossible Ms. Hill. I'm too dumb to understand it."

Ms. Hill set the paper down and turned to her, "Skye, I don't let my students call a _nyone_ dumb, especially themselves." Ms. Hill gave her a pointed look and Skye blushed a little and nodded. Ms. Hill put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It's okay that you don't understand this right now because that's what I'm here for. I'm here to help you understand the material."

Skye nodded again but didn't know if Ms. Hill would be able to help her read these words. They were _hard_ and her brain refused to cooperate.

Ms. Hill gave her a smile and picked the paper back up. She pointed to the last word that Skye had tried to sound out, "Okay, let's sound this out letter by letter."

Skye sounded out each letter that Ms. Hill pointed to and then put them all together, "Friend! It says friend!" She scrunched up her nose, "Why is it spelled like that? It looks like it should say fry-end."

Ms. Hill laughed, "I don't know, some words just look really weird don't they?"

Skye nodded and they finished the last four words on her worksheet. Skye was about to stand up and go back to her desk when Ms. Hill stopped her, "How have you been feeling so far?"

Skye considered it. She had been feeling fine for most of the say, except when her parents had left her and Jemma and Fitz had asked so many questions. She had been so busy that she had actually forgotten what had happened and that she was nervous about being back at school. She grinned, "I'm good."

Ms. Hill smiled at her, "That's great to hear. I was thinking that for recess I could bring out some sidewalk chalk for you to play with? I usually sit on the bench with the other teachers and there's a lot of space for you to draw on."

Skye nodded enthusiastically, "Okay! I love drawing."

Ms. Hill stood up, "Then it's a deal. Why don't you head back to your seat and put your things away. Recess is in a couple minutes."

Skye nodded and returned to her desk. Lincoln had already finished his reading lesson, he was super good at words, and was talking to the boy who sat next to him, Mathew. When she sat down he looked over and grinned, "I'm so excited for recess. I'm going to climb on _top_ of the covered slide today. You should try with me."

Skye gave him a look, "You're not supposed to do that."

He leaned in and whispered, "I'm going to do it when the teachers aren't looking. Come on! It'll be fun!"

Skye shook her head, "I'm going to draw with chalk."

Lincoln leaned back and gave her a dubious look, "Where are you going to get chalk?"

She smirked, "Ms. Hill is bringing it out for me."

"Really? Maybe I could climb onto the slide and then draw with you?"

She nodded, "Okay. I could distract the teachers for a couple of minutes so that you could climb onto the slide."

Lincoln smiled at her, "Yes! You're the best."

Skye smiled and focused on putting her things away in her desk. She was kind of nervous about recess. That was when Crazy Cal had taken her and the bad thing had happened. She told herself that nothing bad could happen to her when she was with Ms. Hill and forced herself to focus on being happy that she would get to draw on the sidewalk with chalk. She had been able to do that at the orphanage and it had been pretty fun.

Ms. Hill told them to line up and get ready to leave for recess so she raced to the door and got in line. Fitz was the line leader so she stood between Jemma and Lincoln as they walked out the door and to the playground. Everyone ran off as soon as they got to the play area but she stayed by Ms. Hill. Lincoln waved to her as he ran to one of the slides and she waved back. Jemma and Fitz looked back and had confused looks on their faces when they saw that she wasn't following them. They turned back around and came up to her, "Aren't you coming?"

She looked up to Ms. Hill and her teacher set down a big box full of chalk onto the sidewalk before sitting down on the bench a foot away with the other teachers. She turned back to her friends and shook her head, "No, I'm going to draw here instead."

Her two friends gave each other a look and Skye thought that they knew that she was too scared to leave Ms. Hill's side. They looked back to her and Fitz said, "Can we draw with you?"

She was happy that they didn't say anything about her being a scaredy-cat and nodded eagerly. They all sat down on the sidewalk and started to draw. Jemma wanted to draw a really big picture so they decided to draw an underwater scene. She stared drawing little fishies while Fitz drew out a boat and Jemma sketched out a really big whale. She looked up when she heard someone calling her name and saw Lincoln standing by the covered slide and giving her a thumbs up. She nodded at him and turned to the teachers, "Hey! Can you show us how to draw a turtle?"

Ms. Hill and Mrs. Drew turned to her but Mr. Little kept surveying the kids playing on the playground. She grabbed a green piece of chalk, stood up, and walked over to him, "Mr. Little, can you draw a turtle for me?"

She made a hand motion behind her back and pointed towards the other two teachers. She heard Jemma ask Ms. Hill if she could help her with her whale and Fitz ask Mrs. Drew if she could help him draw a fishing pole for his fisherman.

Mr. Little took the chalk from her and said, "Sure, sea turtles are difficult to draw sometimes because they don't have feet, they have weird little flippers. I'll show you."

Skye nodded and watched as he leaned down and drew a mini-turtle on the sidewalk by his feet. She glanced up and saw Lincoln sitting on top of the slide. He was smiling and she could see that he was talking to Mathew and another boy from a different class. He looked over and she made a hand motion for him to get down. He nodded and she watched him carefully climb off the slide. She turned back to Mr. Little as soon as he said, "See? You think you can draw something like that over on your big picture over there?"

Skye nodded and took the chalk back from him, "Yep, thank you Mr. Little. You're a good drawer."

He smiled at her and she sat back down by her friends and continued coloring. They finished their underwater picture and started working on something different. One of them would lie on the ground and someone else would trace them and then they would color in the outline of their bodies. Skye was drawing on fairy wings to her outline when she looked up and froze.

There was a man walking in the sand over by the swing set. His back was to her and she didn't know who he was, all she could see was Crazy Cal. She had been playing in the sand by the swing set when he had taken her.

She felt her breathing pick up and saw Jemma turn to look at her from the corner of her eye. She tried to shove the bad thoughts out of her head but it wasn't really working. It was getting harder to breath and she quickly stood up and went over to Ms. Hill. She tugged on her teacher's shirt sleeve and pointed at the man. She saw Ms. Hill glance over to where she was pointing and quickly turn back to her, "That's just Mr. Little see? He's going to tell one of the students to stop twirling around on the swings. It's alright Skye."

Skye tried to force air down her throat as she looked back to the man. Now that Ms. Hill said something, she could clearly see that the figure had blonde hair rather than brown hair and was way shorter than Crazy Cal had been. Ms. Hill was right. It was just Mr. Little.

She told herself to calm down and went through the exercises that Jay had given her to do when she felt overwhelmed. She told herself that she was safe and she did the breathing exercise that Jay had taught her. She felt her heart rate slowly return to normal and found that she could finally draw enough air into her lungs. She looked over and saw that Ms. Hill and Mrs. Drew were both giving her concerned looks. Skye started to feel embarrassed. She had almost had a complete panic attack in front of _everyone._

Ms. Hill reached towards her and Skye jerked back. She just wanted to go back to coloring and forget that this happened. Ms. Hill pulled her hand back and said, "Are you okay?"

Skye nodded and looked at the ground.

"Do you want me to call your parents?"

Skye thought about it. She _really_ missed her mom and dad but she knew that they wanted her to try and stay at school all day. She wanted them to be proud of her. She shook her head and sat back down by her friends. She determinedly started at her piece of chalk for a minute or two before looking up. Jemma and Fitz were staring at her.

She felt herself start to grow annoyed in addition to already being embarrassed. What were they looking at?

"What?" She snapped at them.

Fitz immediately went back to drawing but Jemma crawled over to her and whispered so that no one else could hear, "Was that a panic attack?"

Skye just stared at her. Jemma whispered again, "My cousin has those and one time she had one while I was staying at her house."

Skye continued to say nothing and stare at her friend. What was she getting at?

Jemma let out a breath of frustration, "What I'm _saying_ is that it's okay if it was one. There's nothing wrong with that. My mommy says that panic attacks make people feel really bad. Are you okay?"

Skye felt her annoyance disappear. Her friend wasn't making fun of her or thought that she was weird, she was just making sure that she was alright. Jemma and Fitz both talked a _lot_ but they still had trouble communicating their thoughts in a plain and understandable manner. They were sometimes too excited about something to see that a topic was making her uncomfortable but that didn't mean that they didn't care about her. She sighed and leaned in close to her friend, "I'm okay. I just… can't breathe sometimes when I get nervous about something. I don't know why."

Jemma put her hand on Skye's arm, "How do you get it to stop?"

Skye put a hand on her chest so that Jemma could see her breathe in, "You breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for three seconds, and then breathe out for four seconds. It helps me a lot."

She watched as Jemma tried to do that and smiled when her friend grinned at her, "That's not as easy as I thought it would be."

Skye nodded, "Yeah, it helps me focus so that I can breathe again."

Jemma sat back, "Okay. If that happens again, now I know how to help you."

Skye suddenly felt a rush of affection towards her friend. She bumped her shoulder against Jemma's and smiled, "Thanks."

They kept drawing until it was time to go back inside and Skye held Jemma's hand on the way back to the classroom. She sat at her desk and Ms. Hill taught them their Word of the Week. Their homework was to use their Word of the Week, which was 'vendor', in three different sentences. Skye sighed and added that to her never-ending pile of homework.

Ms. Hill told them that they would be watching a video about whales until it was time to go home so they all hurried over to the reading rug and got comfortable while their teacher set up the t.v. Skye liked watching the video so much that she didn't even realize it was time to go home until Ms. Hill clapped and told them to line up. She quickly gathered her things and shoved them into her backpack before getting in line by Jemma and Fitz. She was excited to see her mom and dad.

They said goodbye to Lincoln and watched as he got onto his bus before following Ms. Hill to the front of the school. She bounced on her toes as she stood by her teacher and her friends and looked for her parents. Jemma tugged on her sleeve, "I see my mom over there. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

Skye nodded before she remembered something, "Oh! My dad built me a playground in our backyard! You guys should come over and play sometime!"

Fitz smiled real big, "Does it have a slide?"

Skye nodded proudly and Fitz's smile grew even bigger, "I'm in."

Jemma rolled her eyes, "I'll ask my mom to call yours."

Skye waved, "Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

They both waved and ran off. She scanned the busy area and spotted May walking towards her. She knew that Phil had to work but she had still hoped that he would be here to pick her up. She shook off her disappointment and waved to her mom. She was about to run off and meet her when she noticed how many people were in the way. She surveyed the crowd and decided that it would be safer for her to stay by Ms. Hill and wait for May to get to her.

Her mom walked up the steps and smiled at her. Skye rushed forward and jumped. May caught her and hauled her up and into her arms, "I missed you baby."

Skye pressed her face into May's neck and wrapped herself tight around the older woman. She had been okay at school today but she felt way better being with May, "I missed you too."

May leaned back and looked at her face, "How was your day?"

She shrugged and pushed her face further into May's neck. She felt her take a couple of steps forward and greet Ms. Hill, "Hey Maria, how was everything?"

She heard her teacher say, "Skye was great today. There was a little incident during recess, but when I asked if she wanted to call you, she said no."

May lowered her voice but Skye could hear her anyways, "Should I be concerned?"

"No, it was just a very mild panic attack. It only lasted for about two minutes before she calmed herself down. She was great today. We went over some new words as well. Skye? Do you want to tell your mom our Word of the Week?"

Skye picked her head up, "It's 'vendor.' Do you want to know what that means?"

Her mom smiled at her and reached up to brush her bangs out of her eyes, "I would love if you would tell me."

Skye grinned and recited what Ms. Hill had told them earlier, "It's a person who sells something to you."

She saw Ms. Hill smile from the corner of her eye, "Very good Skye! Don't forget to do your homework alright?"

Skye nodded and everyone said goodbye before they made their way back to the car. May repositioned Skye in her arms so that she could open the backdoor and set her into her booster seat. As she was buckling her in she asked, "Did you have fun with your friends?"

Skye nodded and started swinging her feet back and forth, "Yeah. Is it okay if they come over and play on my new playground?"

May finished with the seat straps and leaned forward to press a kiss to Skye's forehead, "I don't see why not. I'll call their parents when we get home and see if it's alright with them."

Skye grinned and watched as May shut her door and got into the driver's seat. She turned the music up and Skye sang along to Beauty and the Beast songs as they made their way back home.

May's phone started ringing and she turned down the music before she answered it, "Hello?"

She paused as she listened to what the other person was saying before speaking up, "Oh that's great sweetie. I'm glad you're all settled… Everyone's fine back here. We all miss you guys."

Skye guessed that she was talking to either Wanda or Pietro and she wiggled around in her seat and tried to listen to what she was saying, "Take a lot of pictures all right?... Have fun but make sure to focus on your schoolwork… No, I know you can handle yourself I just want to make sure you're getting all your work caught up… Yeah, I just picked her up from school… Good. She's right here… Okay, I love you. Here she is."

May reached back and handed her the phone, "Wanda wants to talk to you."

Skye eagerly took the phone from her and put it to her ear, "Hello?"

She heard Wanda's bright voice respond, "Hey little one! How was school?"

Skye couldn't stop the smile that took over her face. She had missed her sister's voice, "It was okay. I have a lot of homework though."

Wanda made a sympathetic sound, "That doesn't sound very fun. I know how you feel, I have a bunch of homework too."

Skye felt sympathy flash through her. Wanda was in _college_ not elementary school, so her homework must be way harder than Skye's, "I'm sorry. I miss you Wanda."

"Oh Skye, I miss you too. Pietro's in a class right now but if he were here, he would say the same thing."

"When he gets back, will you tell him that I miss him?"

She heard rustling on the other line and waited for Wanda to say something, "Of course I will. How about we video chat sometime this week? Then we can both see each other's faces."

Skye sat up straighter, "Yes!"

Wanda laughed, "Okay, give the phone back to mom and we'll set up a time. Oh! And give Mara a kiss for me! I love you Skye."

Skye breathed in sharply. This was the first time that Wanda had ever said that to her, "I love you too."

She could hear the smile in her sister's voice when she said, "Goodbye little one, we'll see each other real soon."

Skye begrudgingly said, "Bye Wanda," before handing the phone back to May. She only half listened to May's part of the conversation. She was distracted by Wanda's declaration of love. It made her feel all warm inside when she thought about it. Wanda loved her and she loved Wanda. She just wished that the twins would hurry up with school and get back home already.

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What'd you guys think? skyedaisyjohnson181001 wanted to have more twin-time but it's kind of hard to include both of them on the phone. If you'd like to see something more specific, let me know and I'll try to include it!

Thank you so so so much for reading and an extra thank you to the lovely people who have taken the time to leave me reviews! I read every single one of them and they all make me feel so happy! You guys are the best 3 xx -Ariel


	40. Chapter 40

**Hey guys! I love all the prompts you've been sending in! Keep them coming! I write all of them down and if I can't fit them into this fic, I'll definitely put them in the one-shot collection :) You can submit them here or on my tumblr page!**

 **Also, I think this fic will only have two or three more chapters so it's nearing the end! I've had so much fun writing it even though it's been a little hectic sometimes ;) As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

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Skye dutifully did her homework with May. It was easier to get most of it done before Nattie and Trip got home because when they were around, she didn't really want to focus, she just wanted to play with them instead.

She finished her Word of the Week homework and May was now helping her with one of her letter worksheets. They were almost finished when the front door flew open. Trip walked in with a smile and made his way directly to the refrigerator to grab something to eat. Natasha trudged in behind him and dropped her backpack to the ground. Skye set her pencil down and watched her sister walk to the table and sit down next to her.

Nattie placed her arms on the table and dropped her head to land on top of them. May leaned over and smoothed out the red-head's hair, "Rough day?"

Natasha grunted in response.

May made a soothing noise, "Was it the math test?"

Nat nodded, sighed, and picked up her head, "I'm not saying that math should be illegal, but if it was, I wouldn't be opposed to it."

Skye nodded in sympathy, "Tell me about it."

Her sister looked over to her and laughed a little, "You've got math troubles too? What're you working on?"

Skye sat up straighter and pushed her letter homework away from her, "Subtraction."

Nattie nodded her head, "Those were the days. You wanna go play outside with me? I think I need some time on the swings."

Skye looked over to May and silently asked for permission. Her mom let out a breath and grabbed her homework, "Okay, but we're finishing this later alright? You have a lot of catch-up work."

Skye nodded and jumped out of her chair. She tugged on Natasha's hand and urged her to stand up. Her sister obliged and they made their way outside. They each sat on a swing and silently enjoyed each other's company for a couple of minutes.

It felt nice to just spend time with her sister. She swung herself slowly, never getting too far from the ground, but she didn't mind.

Natasha broke the silence, "How was school?"

Skye thought about it. She knew that she could tell May and Phil about anything but sometimes she didn't tell them things because she didn't want them to worry about her. For some reason, it was a little different with Natasha. She could just talk to her and her sister would dutifully listen and give her advice if she wanted it. She still told May and Phil mostly everything, but she didn't want to tell them that she hadn't eaten her lunch or that she had felt really bad when Jemma and Fitz had interrogated her this morning.

She looked over, "Something's wrong with me Nattie."

Her sister kept swinging but sharply turned her head to look at Skye, "What do you mean?"

Skye shrugged, "I don't know but I can't eat. Daddy packed me a really good lunch but I couldn't eat it. I felt bad."

Natasha slowed her swing down a little, "That happens to me sometimes, especially during finals week. It's probably because you're nervous. Were you nervous about going back to school?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah, I like it there but it still scares me."

"There's nothing wrong with you Skye, you just don't eat when you're nervous or stressed. Some people overeat when they're nervous while some people just don't eat at all. It sucks but it happens."

Skye thought about it. She thought that she was getting sick again or that she had become permanently damaged after getting kidnapped but apparently Nattie had this problem sometimes too. Skye pushed her feet against the ground and swung back, "So it'll go away?"

Nat nodded, "Yeah, once you start to relax a little bit. You'll be alright маленькаяigh звезда."

Skye turned her focus back onto her swing and thought about what Natasha had said. She just needed to relax. She thought that she _was_ starting to relax. She looked back over to her sister, "I don't know how to relax."

Nattie laughed, "What makes you feel peaceful?"

Skye thought about it, "I like drawing… playing with my dolls and… being with mom and dad. That makes me happy."

She saw Natasha consider that, "You already do all that stuff a lot. Maybe we should try something new."

"Okay, like what?"

Her sister jumped off of her swing and stepped behind her. Skye twisted her head around and grinned when Natasha started pushing her. She swung her legs so that she could go higher.

After a minute or two, she heard Natasha clap her hands together and she slowed to a stop and turned back to look at her, "I know! You should ride a bike! I used to do that all the time when I felt upset because you're, like, in total control. How's that sound?"

Skye quickly turned back around and hid her face from her sister. She had never ridden a bike without training wheels before. They had had three bikes at the orphanage but they all didn't have training wheels, so she could never use them. She tried once but she had fallen off and some of the other kids had laughed at her. She didn't know if that would be considered peaceful or relaxing.

She stared ahead of her and saw Natasha enter her field of vision. She didn't look up and after a couple seconds, she heard her speak up, "Yeah that was a dumb idea anyways. Let me think of something else."

Skye finally lifter he head up to look Natasha in the eye, "It wasn't dumb! I just… can't ride a bike."

She whispered the last part and saw Natasha tilt her head, "What?"

Skye sighed and spoke in a slightly louder voice, "I can't ride a bike."

She stared at her sister who was staring at her. She started to feel embarrassed but then Natasha grinned at her, "Why didn't you say so? We can teach you."

Skye straightened up in her swing, "Really?"

Nattie nodded, "Yeah. Listen, not knowing how to ride a bike isn't a bad thing. I didn't learn until I came to live here and I was ten. The people I used to live with never even gave me a bike with training wheels."

Skye felt her embarrassment melt away. She didn't know why she thought Natasha would make fun of her. Her sister never did that, she always made her feel better.

She started to feel excited. Maybe she actually _could_ learn how to ride a bike. She stood up from her swing, "Was it easy to learn?"

Natasha started to make her way inside and Skye followed her, "I'm not going to lie, I fell down a few times before I got the hang of it but it was totally worth it. Besides, you're living with the best teachers in town."

Skye grinned and followed Natasha into the house. Her sister looked around and started making her way into the living room where May was looking at some papers. They both stood in front of the chair May was sitting in until she looked up at them. She gave Natasha a pointed look, "What're you up to? You have that look on your face."

Natasha shook her head, "Nothing bad, I promise, but we do need to go to the store. Like, right now."

May tilted her head and looked over to her. She just shrugged. She thought she was going to learn how to ride a bike, not go to the store. Her mom looked back to Natasha, "Why?"

Her sister wrapped an arm around Skye's shoulders and she leaned into her, "We're going to teach Skye how to ride a bike and she needs a bike for that to happen. My old one is too big for her."

May stared at them for a minute and Skye thought that she was going to say no but she watched as her mom slowly smiled and said, "Let's go then."

Skye grinned and they watched as May stood up and grabbed her keys from the counter before standing at the bottom of the stairs and shouting up, "Trip! We're going to get Skye a bike! Want to come?"

They heard footsteps coming towards them and she looked up to see Trip looking down at them, "What'd you say?"

May jingled her keys, "We're going to get Skye a bike. Do you want to come with us or stay here?"

Trip grinned and started making his way down the staircase, "Let's go."

Skye smiled and held Natasha's hand on the way to the car.

* * *

Skye hadn't realized that there were so many different bikes. She stared at all of them and tried to pick out the one that she wanted. She was having a hard time. There were way too many to choose from.

She was standing next to May because Natasha and Trip had wandered into the next aisle to look at the bikes over there. May was holding her up so that she could see the bikes that were hanging on the rack above her. She kept looking at a light blue bike with light green tassels and a white bike with pink tassels and a pink basket on the front. She liked the white one because then she could put her dolls in the basket and they could go with her, but she also liked the blue one because it had a bell on the handlebars.

May saw her looking at the two and set her down so that she could grab them and put them on the ground in front of her, "Which one?"

Skye stared at them for a little longer and then got distracted when she heard Natasha giggling from the next aisle. May looked at her, "I bet they're doing something they're not supposed to do." Her mom took her hand and they both walked over to see what was going on.

They stopped when they reached the next aisle and saw the scene before them. Trip was riding around on a bike that was obviously too small for him. It was white with blue flowers and blue tassels as well as a bell _and_ a basket. He had a pink helmet sitting crookedly on his head and was riding circles around Nattie, who was laughing and kept trying to push him off his seat. They both stopped what they were doing why Skye pointed and said, "I want that one!"

Her siblings paused and gave them sheepish looks. Trip slowly got off of the bike and smiled at her, "Good because I, ah, was just testing it out for you."

They made their way over to them and May said, "Sure you were."

Skye stood by the bike and ran her fingers through the tassels. May gently pushed her towards the seat, "Why don't you hop on and see if you like it."

Skye unsurely stepped up to it and put her hands on the handlebars. Trip held the bike steady and Skye gave him a grateful look. She climbed on and wobbled a little bit even though Trip was holding the bike for her. She didn't really know what she was testing it out for, but she liked it and the seat felt comfy and the basket was cool looking, so she nodded and hopped off. She tugged on May's hand, "I like it."

May nodded, "Trip, will you carry that for us? And _try_ not to ride it around the store please."

Trip raised two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute and May squeezed her hand, "Let's find a helmet and some other safety gear."

* * *

Skye had changed her mind. She didn't want to learn how to ride a bike anymore. She told herself that it had nothing to do with her sitting precariously on top of her bike and staring at the sidewalk in front of her, it was just because riding bikes didn't even seem that fun anyways.

Phil had been waiting for them when they got home and had been extremely excited to teach her how to ride her bike. He had helped her put her elbow-pads and knee-pads on and had clipped her helmet snugly onto her head. They brought the bike out onto the sidewalk in front of the house and they were teaching her what to do. Phil held her bike steady while she sat on it and May was leaning down and talking to her, "You've ridden with training wheels before, right?"

Skye swallowed nervously and nodded.

Phil smiled, "This is basically the same things except now you kind of have to balance yourself. Don't lean too far to the left or right and you should be fine sweetie."

Trip nodded, "And if you want to stop, push your feet backwards and it'll stop. Try it out."

Skye pushed her pedals the wrong way and felt them resist. She assumed that those were the brakes. She nodded and felt Natasha reach forwards and run her hand over Skye's helmet, "You'll do great маленькаяigh звезда. Just remember to be brave and that it's alright if you fall. I fell four times before I got the hang of things."

May nodded, "Speaking of falling, if you need to, fall onto the grass and not the sidewalk okay?"

Skye nodded and looked at her family. They were all smiling at her and even though she was nervous, she smiled back at them. She was nervous _and_ excited to be learning this. She felt bulky and a little awkward with all this protective gear coveringg her but it helped make her feel a little safer so she didn't mind.

Phil said, "I'll hold onto your bike until you feel comfortable enough to tell me to let go okay?"

"Okay, don't let go until I tell you though."

Phil chuckled, "You got it sweetheart. Alright everyone, back up."

Her family took a step back and Phil said, "Okay, start pushing the pedals."

Skye did as she was told and slowly started to move forward. She felt wobbly and yelped, "It doesn't feel very safe daddy."

She saw Phil walking beside her, "I know, but it's easier once you go a little faster. Come on Skye, let's go."

She pushed her legs faster and Phil started to jog beside her. She started to feel less wobbly and more secure and felt herself start to grin. The wind felt nice on her face and she kind of wanted to try to do it on her own, "You can let go now daddy."

Phil didn't let go right away, "Are you sure?"

She nodded slightly, "Yep, let go."

He released his hold on the bike and Skye was so happy to be riding a bike on her own that she forgot to feel nervous. She went a couple of feet before she started to wobble and started to panic a little. She remembered what Trip told her and pushed her feet back to stop. It worked a little _too_ well. She stopped too abruptly and stumbled forward when her bike jerked to a stop. She fell off her bike and onto the grass.

She heard footsteps running toward her and looked up. Phil was right in front of her and everyone else was just behind him. He reached forward and gently pulled her up, "Are you alright?"

She smiled at him, "Did you see that? I rode on a bike by myself! Can I try again?"

She felt Phil brush some dirt off her forearm and smiled at May when she caught up to them. Her mom reached forward and straightened her helmet, "Mommy! Did you see me? I did it all by myself!"

May smiled at her, "I sure did sweetie, it was very impressive. You did great!"

Skye smiled, picked up her bike, and jumped up and down, "Can I try again?"

May held the bike while Skye sat on it. She helped her turn around and face the house, "Of course you can. Ready?"

Skye nodded and started pushing on her pedals. May kept her bike steady and Skye leaned slightly forward, "Okay, you can let go now."

May let go and Skye kept riding forward. She was still smiling and her cheeks were starting to hurt but she didn't care. She was riding a bike by herself! She felt totally in control and was proud of herself for learning something new. She felt excited energy running through her and couldn't help but laugh happily.

She got to her house and applied the brakes. This time she was gentler and didn't fall when she came to a stop. She swung her legs over, got off her bike, and set it gently on the ground. She jumped up and down in excitement and looked over to see her family making their way towards her. She ran over and met them halfway, "I did it! I did it on my own!"

Natasha reached down and high-fived her, "You did great маленькаяigh звезда! You fell a lot less than I did."

Phil nodded, "Yeah Skye, you're a natural."

Trip smiled at her, "Let me grab my bike and we can ride together!"

He ran towards the garage and Nattie ran after him, "Wait for me! Will you grab mine too?"

She looked back to her parents when May leaned forward and brushed her hair over her shoulders, "I'm so proud of you Skye. You got back up and kept trying even though you fell down."

Phil nodded, "You did real good sweetie, how do you feel?"

Skye's smile was still on her face and her cheeks were _really_ starting to ache but she didn't even care. She was bursting with happiness and she couldn't remember when she had last felt this way, "I feel awesome! I rode a bike by myself!"

She saw Trip and Natasha come out of the garage on their bikes and laughed. May leaned down and kissed her cheek, "You sure did baby."

Trip and Natasha both stopped by them and Trip grinned at her, "Come on Skye."

She looked back to her parents and they waved her on. She picked her bike back up and watched her siblings ride circles around her parents. She laughed and got back onto her bike.

* * *

What'd you guys think? I didn't think that Skye would be the kind to quit after falling off a bike so I didn't write in any tantrums. I just taught my little cousin how to ride a bike and she was _definitely_ the type to throw a tantrum. Skye's always looking at the bright side of things :)

Leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! I read every single one of them and they make me so happy! Thank you so much for reading and an extra thank you to everyone who had followed, favorited, and reviewed this fic! You're all amazing 3 xx -Ariel


	41. Chapter 41

**Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! I hope you like it :)**

 **I've been writing down all the prompts you guys have been sending in and I love all of them! If I can't fit them into the story, they will definitely be in the one-shot collection. Keep sending them in!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

Skye was excited to go home. She had gradually relaxed at school throughout the week and even though she still stuck fairly close to Ms. Hill at recess, she felt fairly comfortable in class and at lunch. She had only had two incidents this week, once that Monday at recess and yesterday in the parking lot when May had picked her up and someone had slammed the door really loudly right next to her, but both times she had been able to calm herself down. Jay said that she was improving a lot and that made Skye feel proud of herself.

It was Friday and May had said that Jemma and Fitz could come home with them and play for a couple of hours. She was _so_ excited. Ms. Hill had had to remind her to focus during their one-on-one time. She had apologized profusely but it had still been hard for her to sit still and focus on her schoolwork.

They only had a few more minutes left in class and Ms. Hill was reading them a story so they were all sitting on the reading rug. She was sitting in between Lincoln and Jemma and she was trying to sit still and focus on the story but she was having a difficult time. Her teacher was reading Horton Hears a Who, she had read half yesterday and she was finishing the second half today. Skye really liked the story and all the silly pictures so she put her hands on her knees to stop her legs from moving around and distracting her.

Ms. Hill _finally_ finished her story and told them to grab their things and line up at the door. Skye ran over to her desk and grabbed her backpack. She had stuffed all of her things into it earlier and it was ready to go. She got into line and stood behind Jemma and grabbed her hand. She held her friend's hand as they said goodbye to Lincoln and watched him get onto his bus. They followed Ms. Hill to the front of the school and watched as the rest of her class ran off to find their parents. Skye stood by her teacher and looked for May with her friends standing next to her.

She looked up to Ms. Hill, "Jemma and Fitz are coming over to my house to play."

Ms. Hill looked down at them and smiled, "That sounds like fun guys! I hope you have a wonderful time." She looked up and pointed, "Your mom's over there Skye."

Skye waved at May and turned back to her teacher, "Bye Ms. Hill!"

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, bye Ms. Hill!"

Their teacher laughed and smiled at them, "Bye you three! Have fun!"

They all waved and ran off to meet May. She stopped in front of her mom and wrapped her arms around her waist. She pressed her face against May's stomach and let go after a couple of seconds. She stepped back and May kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders, "How was school you guys? Did you learn anything?"

Jemma jumped up and down, "We learned that if you dare Lincoln jump off the top of the monkey bars, he will."

Fitz nodded along with her and May chuckled, "Did you learn anything educational?"

Fitz spoke up, "In art class, we learned how to make houses out of popsicle sticks."

May chuckled again and started herding them towards the car, "Well that sounds fun."

Skye nodded, "It was. We painted them today and can take them home on Monday. I made mine for you mommy."

May ran her fingers through Skye's hair, "Thank you baby, I'm very excited to see it."

Her mom opened up the backseat and Skye waited for Jemma and Fitz to climb in before she settled herself into her booster seat. Her friends' booster seats were already in the car because their parents had given them to May after they dropped everyone off at school this morning. May leaned across her and helped her friends buckle in before getting into the driver's seat and starting the car.

May pulled out of the parking lot and looked back at them through the mirror, "What do you guys think about us stopping for some ice cream?"

Skye squealed and while Fitz and Jemma both started swinging their feet excitedly and shouting, "Yes!"

May laughed and turned up the music before focusing on the road again. She sang Aladdin songs with her friends until May turned into an ice cream parlor and parked the car. Jemma managed to unbuckle herself but Skye couldn't figure out the confusing straps to her seat and neither could Fitz so May had to help them. They all scrambled out of the car and Skye held May's hand as they walked into the ice cream shop.

It was cold in the building and she couldn't help but shiver as she joined her friends by the display counter. All three of them pressed their faces against the glass but they were all too short to see the flavors. May grabbed Fitz and set him on one hip and then carefully lifted Jemma and put her on her other hip before leaning over so that they could peer into the display. Skye waited patiently and ignored the small flare of jealousy that surged through her at the sight of Jemma and Fitz taking all of May's attention. Her mom was just being nice.

Her friends picked out their flavors and May set them down before picking her up. She wrapped an arm around May's neck and hugged her close. She leaned over and looked at all the different flavors. She decided on the peanut butter cup flavored ice cream and pointed at it so that May would know. Her mom nodded and ordered for her while Jemma and Fitz stepped close to the counter and ordered for themselves.

They ran around the shop until their ice cream was ready and then carefully grabbed it from the employee. She wrapped an arm around May's waist, "Thanks mommy."

Jemma and Fitz both nodded and Jemma said, "Yeah, thank you."

May smiled and led them back outside and towards the car, "You're welcome guys, just be careful when you eat it."

They all nodded seriously and helped each other hold their ice creams while May helped buckle them in. Some of Fitz's ice cream dripped onto his shirt, but other than that, they were all very careful.

By the time May pulled into their driveway, they had all finished their ice cream and were wiggling around in their seats. May helped them get out and they followed her to the front door and into the house. May walked to the backdoor and opened it, "Go run off some of that ice cream."

They all ran outside and started climbing around on Skye's new playground. They had races to see who could climb the rock wall the fastest and made their way down the slide and across the monkey bars.

Fitz kept swinging across the monkey bars while Jemma and Skye both sat down on the swings. Fitz called over to her, "Your dad built this for you?"

Skye nodded proudly, "Yeah. My brother, Pietro, helped him."

Jemma looked over to her, "Where's your brother at?"

Skye swung her legs back and forth so that her swing would go higher, "He's in Europe with my other sister, Wanda."

Jemma stopped and twisted her swing around so that she spun around in a circle, "Why are they over there?"

Skye kept swinging and said, "They're learning things at schools over there."

Jemma kept spinning, "That sounds like fun."

Skye nodded, "Yeah, but I miss them. I wish they were back here."

Jemma stopped her swing and Skye saw her looking at her each time she swung by, "I'm sorry."

Slowing her swing down, she came to a stop and looked at her friends, "Thanks, but it's alright. They really like it over there and we talk all the time. I video chatted with them on Wednesday."

Jemma pushed off the ground and started swinging again, "That's nice. I want to meet them when they come back. Your family is so cool."

Skye smiled and had to agree with her friend. Her family _was_ cool. She started swinging again and soon Fitz came over and asked if he could use her swing. She slowed down and hopped off so that he could get on. She made her way over to the monkey bars and started climbing across it.

She played around on her jungle gym for a couple of minutes before she heard Fitz's voice, which was louder than it normally was. She wandered over and saw them quickly talking back and forth, which _was_ normal.

Fitz was waving one had around while the other was wrapped around the chain of the swing to keep him steady, "Come _on_ Simmons, I dared you to do it. That means you have to."

Skye stood to the side, "Do what?"

Fitz looked over to her, "I dared her to jump off the swing while it's high up but she won't."

Skye crossed her arms, "She doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to."

Jemma nodded, "See Fitz?"

Fitz stopped swinging and looked at her, "It's a _dare_! She has to do it, that's the rules."

Skye took a step forward, "No she doesn't! If she wants to do it, she can, but if she doesn't want to do it, she shouldn't have to."

Jemma stopped swinging, "Yeah, I don't want to. It's too high up."

Fitz forcefully sighed, "You're both scaredy cats. Watch this."

Jemma got off her swing and stood next to Skye. They both watched as Fitz swung up really high and scooted forward on his seat. He smirked at them before jumping off the swing and landing a couple of feet in front of it. When he landed, he stumbled a little bit and fell to his knees. She and Jemma rushed forward and helped him stand up.

Jemma brushed some dirt off his shirt sleeve, "See Fitz? You shouldn't have done that."

Fitz just grinned at them, "No that was fun! It didn't even hurt!"

Skye pointed at his right knee, "Your knee is bleeding."

Fitz and Jemma both leaned down and looked at his knee. He let out a breath, "Oh yeah. Maybe I should get a bandaid."

Jemma gave him a look like she thought that he was crazy, "Come on."

Skye led them both inside and called for May, "Mommy! Fitz needs a bandaid!"

May poked her head into the room and assessed the situation. She pointed to the kitchen, "Can you wet some paper towels? I'll go grab a baindaid."

Skye nodded and led her friends into the kitchen and stood on her tiptoes so she could reach the roll of paper towels. She grabbed it and ripped some off the roll before sticking it under the sink, turning it on, and getting them wet. She turned around as soon as May walked into the kitchen. Her mom picked up Fitz and set him on the counter. He held up the bottom of his shorts so that they wouldn't get any blood on them while May looked at his cut.

She handed May the wet paper towels and she thanked her before gently cleaning Fitz's knee. He hissed but didn't say anything and Skye thought that he was being very brave. Her mom put some ointment onto his knee before putting a Spongebob bandaid over his cut.

Fitz leaned in and gave May a hug and she smoothed a hand over his head before saying, "You were very tough."

Fitz nodded and Skye stamped down her feelings of jealousy at seeing Fitz cuddling her mom. She reminded herself that Fitz was hurt and May was just helping him. She felt bad for feeling this way.

May lifted Fitz off the counter and set him on the ground. He made his way over to her and Jemma and said, "Can we go play in your playroom?"

Skye looked over to May and the older woman nodded, so she grinned, "Yeah! Trip taught me how to set up the t.v. so that we can play Mario Cart!"

Her friends both made excited noises before following Skye upstairs and into the playroom.

* * *

She and her friends had been playing happily in the playroom when they heard the doorbell ring. They all groaned and set their crayons down.

Fitz looked over to her, "I don't want to go."

Jemma nodded, "Yeah, me neither."

Skye knew that they couldn't stay the night, otherwise she would've asked. Jiaying was coming over in a little while and she didn't really want her friends to know that she was seeing a therapist. She didn't think that they would care that much but she would rather it be kept a secret.

She led them out of the playroom and they all waved at Nattie when they saw her walk out of her room and toward the bathroom, "Maybe we can play again tomorrow?"

Fitz nodded eagerly, "Yeah! We should go to the castle playground! I'll bring my ball so we can play footie again."

Skye nodded, "Okay, I'll ask my mom."

They walked down the stairs and saw Jemma's mom waiting for them. She smiled at the three of them and then turned to Fitz, "I'm going to walk you home Leo."

He nodded and grabbed her hand. Jemma walked up and hugged her mom before saying, "Can we all go to the castle playground tomorrow?"

Jemma's mom looked at May and her mom considered it, "I can take them if you're busy."

Jemma's mom smiled and grabbed onto Jemma's hand, "Thank you! I can drop them off around noon if that's okay?"

May nodded, "That sounds great. We'll all have fun together."

Skye wrapped an arm around May's leg and smiled at her friends, "Bye guys!"

They waved at her and said goodbye before walking out the door and down the street. May shut the door and turned to her, "Did you have fun?"

Skye nodded and tried to climb up May. Her mom grabbed her and picked her up so that they were face to face. Skye wrapped her arms around May's neck and leaned forward to hug her, "I love you."

May made a soft sound and hugged her back, "I love you too baby."

Hearing May say that made her earlier feelings of jealousy seem silly. She _knew_ May loved her but it had just been weird seeing her around another kid. May was _her_ mom and this was _her_ family. She had waited _way_ too long to get one and she didn't really like sharing them with other people.

Suddenly the door opened up and Phil walked in. He stopped short when he saw her and May standing so close to the doorway, hugging.

He smiled and walked up to them, "There are two of my favorite girls."

He leaned forward and kissed May before turning to her and tickling her tummy. Skye giggled and reached towards him. He took her from May and held her close, "How was your day sweetie?"

She hugged him and leaned back, "It was really fun."

He smiled at her, "That's great. Why don't you tell me about it while we make dinner? If we start now, we can finish eating before Jay gets here."

Skye nodded and all three of them made their way into the kitchen.

* * *

Skye set her fork down with a pleased smile. She had eaten _all_ of her chicken, most of her green beans, and about half of her salad. She looked over at Phil and pointed to her plate. He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up, "I'm very proud of you sweetheart."

She grinned and sat back against her chair. She was really proud of herself. She hadn't eaten this much in a long time and her tummy didn't even hurt!

She waited until everyone was done and then picked up her dirty dishes and brought them over to the sink. She sat on the counter and watched as everyone helped put the clean dishes away and the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Nattie handed her clean glasses and she put them in the cabinet next to her head. They finished cleaning up and all made their way into the living room.

Skye snuggled between May and Phil on the couch and had been watching t.v. for two minutes when the doorbell rang. She groaned and got up to open the door with May.

Jay greeted them with a smile when they opened up the door, "Hey guys!"

Skye and May both said hello and went to walk upstairs to Skye's room. May started to follow them but Skye turned around, "You don't have to wait in the hallway mommy."

May stopped short and glanced over to Jay. She smiled at Skye, "Okay, well, we'll be down here if you need us."

Skye nodded and led Jay up to her room. She already had paper and crayons set out and waiting for them on her floor and she sat down by her supplies. Jay sat down next to her a smiled at her, "How are you feeling today?"

Skye smiled back, "I'm happy. I finished my dinner!"

Jay leaned back on her hands, "That is wonderful news Skye!"

Skye smiled proudly and grabbed a yellow crayon, "Thanks."

Jay crossed her legs and leaned towards her, "So, how was today? Did you have any incidents?"

Skye shook her head, "No, I even played a little ways away from Ms. Hill on the playground. I was scared but I told myself that I wasn't in any danger, just like you told me."

Jay smiled again, "That is great Skye! Do you still have your nightmares?"

Skye set her crayon down and stared at her hands, "Yeah, I still have them. I don't like sleeping alone so I still sleep with mommy and daddy."

Jay nodded, "That's okay Skye. You're making progress and that's amazing. We're taking baby steps and they're paying off. We'll get there."

Skye nodded. She trusted Jay. The older woman had helped her with a lot, especially with understanding what had happened when she was kidnapped. She helped her process the events that had left her confused and helped her understand that the people in black weren't bad, they were protecting her. It was still slightly confusing and scary to think about, but when she thought about Crazy Cal and what had taken place, it didn't overwhelm her like it did before.

They still colored a lot and it helped her sometimes to draw something and have Jay go through her picture with her. It was now easier to connect her thoughts to different emotions and finally to words that she could use to describe what she was thinking and feeling.

Jay grabbed a sheet of paper and started absentmindedly coloring on it, "So, what did you do today?"

Skye perked up, "My friends came over and we had ice cream and played on my new playground!"

Jay chuckled, "That sounds like a lot of fun. How did that go?"

"Fitz jumped off the swings and hurt his knee so May had to fix him."

Jay must have heard something in her voice because she questioned her about it, "Was he alright?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah he was fine. Mommy gave him a Spongebob bandaid and a hug for being tough."

Jay hummed, "How did seeing your mom take care of another child make you feel?"

Skye stayed silent for a couple of seconds and grabbed onto her moon pendant, "I didn't like it."

Tilting her head, Jay said, "Why not?"

Thinking about her reasons for feeling this way made Skye feel mad at herself. It was stupid and selfish to feel jealous over May taking care of Fitz, she _knew_ that, but that didn't stop her from feeling that way.

She kept her eyes averted from Jay's, "Because she's _my_ mom! Not his!"

Jay leaned back at Skye's voice. She hadn't meant to make her voice that loud. She blushed and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Jay studied her for a couple of seconds and Skye squirmed under her gaze. She finally spoke up and Skye let out a breath, "Do you mind if your mom and dad join us?"

Skye shook her head and Jay motioned for her to stand up, "Why don't you go grab them and I'll wait here."

She nodded, jumped up, and ran out of the room. She made her way downstairs and Phil made a surprised sound when he saw her, "Is everything okay sweetheart?"

She nodded and stopped in front of them by the couch. She grabbed both their hands and tugged, "Jay said she wants you to come join us."

Her parents looked at each other before standing up and letting Skye lead them to her room. She sat back down on the floor and her parents followed suit. Jay smiled at them, "Thank you for joining us. Skye mentioned something and I thought it would be better if we talked about it with you here."

Both of her parents nodded and Skye grabbed onto May's pinky. It felt a little different with May and Phil listening in on her sessions with Jay but Skye shook it off. Jay gave her a pointed look and kept talking, "Skye, do you maybe want to tell your mom what you were feeling today?"

Skye stared down at their connected pinkies and swallowed thickly. She didn't want May to be mad at her for feeling bad things about her friends. She stayed silent even when May tightened her hold in Skye's pinky.

Jay cleared her throat, "Well, she said that she felt a little jealous when she saw you taking care of another kid."

Phil reached over and rubbed her back while May turned to her, "Why sweetie?"

She looked up to May, "Because you're _my_ mom, not his."

May reached forward and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "I was still your mom when I was taking care of Fitz wasn't I?"

Skye reluctantly nodded, "Yeah."

Phil spoke up and she turned to him, "We'll always be your parents Skye, no matter what. Even when we're taking care of someone else, we're still your parents."

Skye nodded. She _knew_ that and she also knew that her jealous feelings were irrational, but she couldn't stop herself from having them. She let out a harsh breath, "I just… I waited a really long time to have a mom and dad like you guys and I don't want to share."

She crawled over and settled herself in Phil's lap before wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning back against him. She felt guilty for saying her bad thoughts out loud but it made her feel better being close to Phil.

She watched May scoot over so that she was facing them. May leaned in close and kissed her forehead, "You share us with Natasha, Trip, Wanda, and Pietro and you seem fine with that."

She nodded. She never felt jealous when May or Phil paid attention to her siblings because _her_ mom and had were _their_ mom and dad too.

Phil started swaying from side to side, "Listen sweetheart, sometimes your mom and I are going to pay attention to other kids or other people but that doesn't mean we love you any less. You're our little baby and we love you always."

Skye let out a breath. She knew that her feelings of jealousy were unnecessary but it made her feel better hearing them say it. She tightened her hold on Phil's hands around her waist and leaned forward towards May. Her mom rubbed their noses together and Skye grinned, "I love you guys."

She saw May glance up to Phil before looking back to her, "We love you too."

* * *

What'd you guys think? I think the next chapter will be the last one so we're nearing the end here! I can't believe how long this fic ended up being!

Thank you so so so much for reading and an extra thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! It still boggles my mind that so many people like my story :) xx -Ariel


	42. Chapter 42

**Hey guys! I literally can't believe that this is the last chapter. I feel weird ending this fic, I guess I just got used to writing a new chapter every day and it's become such a big part of my life that it's odd for it to be over! I hope you like it!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and for everyone who had followed, favorited, and reviewed my fic. You're all awesome!**

 **As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx**

* * *

May and Phil had been acting weird all week.

It had started right after her therapy session with Jay. They all had walked Jay downstairs and Skye had said goodbye to her before her parents asked her to go hang out with Nattie and Trip while they asked Jay something. She had slowly walked into the living room and hadn't heard their distant voices until she was sitting on the couch between her siblings. She tried to listen in on their conversation but they kept their voices too low for her to hear. She had sighed, snuggled close to Nattie's side, and focused on the t.v., effectively forgetting about her parent's strange behavior.

It had carried on throughout the weekend and into the week.

On Saturday, May had taken her and her friends to the castle playground and it had been super fun. Fitz had brought his ball so they had played soccer for a little while before playing freeze tag with some of the other kids that were around. Every time she had looked over to make sure May was still there, her mom was talking on the phone. The first time she looked over, May was sitting on the bench and talking calmly. The second time, May looked more engaged in her conversation. She was waving her hands around and pushing her hair out of her face. The third time, May was up and walking around.

When they had finished playing, Skye had ran over to May, and once her mom saw her running towards her, she said something into her phone and quickly put it away. Skye thought that that was weird but she was having too much fun with her friends to really care. May had smiled at her and hugged her tight, so she knew that May wasn't mad at her, and that was good enough for her.

On Sunday, some stranger had come over to their house.

Skye had been sitting at the table doing homework with Phil while Nattie and Trip were over at their friends' houses. He was helping her with her math when the doorbell rang. May sprang up from the couch and quickly made her way over to the door. Skye looked over to Phil and he gave her a clueless look, so she just shrugged and went back to trying to solve her subtraction problem.

She got distracted when she heard the door shut and an unfamiliar voice get closer to her. She set her pencil down and turned around in her chair to see what was going on.

May was walking next to a nice looking lady. She looked kind of old and wore big glasses. The stranger was smiling and carrying a clipboard with a giant stack of paper on top of it. She didn't know what they were saying, but she saw May point out the living room and the stranger looked around and inspected everything closely.

She watched as May walked towards them, "…and here is our dining room. Over there is our kitchen."

Skye stood up from her seat and made her way over to May. She grabbed onto her mom's leg and tugged on her hand. She didn't want to talk in front of the stranger but she really wanted to know what was going on so she hoped that May understood her silent question.

May looked down at her, "Hey sweetie, this is Mrs. Jefferson. She's going to be looking around our house."

Mrs. Jefferson leaned down and held out her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Skye."

Skye reached forward to shake her hand and wondered how she knew her name. She figured that May had told Mr. Jefferson about her and that made her feel happy. She took her hand back and waved.

Mrs. Jefferson looked around, "I really like your house, would it be okay if you showed me around? I think you would be an excellent tour guide."

Skye looked up at May and her mom gave her an encouraging nod. She grabbed onto May's hand, took a deep breath, and nodded, "Okay."

Skye tugged on May's hand and pointed at the table, "This is our table where we eat all our food. I do my homework here too even though it's not really fun, but mommy and daddy help me with the hard stuff."

Mrs. Jefferson nodded, "That's very helpful of them. Do you like your school?"

Skye grinned a little, "Yeah. My teacher is super cool and my friends are awesome! Two of them live next door so we play _all_ the time." She couldn't help but brag a little.

Mrs. Jefferson smiled and Skye walked into the kitchen, "This is our kitchen."

Mrs. Jefferson walked around and inspected everything, she even wrote some things down on the paper on her clipboard. She looked out the kitchen window and pointed, "Is that a playground?"

Skye smiled, "Yeah! My daddy and brother built it for me!"

The older lady smiled at her, "Well that was very nice of them."

Skye nodded and watched as she kept looking around the kitchen.

Skye glanced up at May and the older woman just smiled back at her. She shrugged and led them out of the kitchen and up the staircase. She watched as Mrs. Jefferson inspected all of the pictures on the wall and Skye made sure to point at the picture that Phil had just hung up of her, Nattie, and Trip at Natasha's dance recital. She really like that picture.

Skye turned towards the playroom and opened the door. She walked inside, "This is our playroom."

Mrs. Jefferson walked into the room and smiled, "This looks like a fun room! Do you play in here a lot?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah, I play games with Nattie and Trip and I like to color in here. We have a _bunch_ of crayons and coloring books."

Mrs. Jefferson nodded and walked around the room. Skye noticed that she did that a lot.

They finished with the playroom and Skye pointed out her sibling's rooms before leading them into her room, "This is my room."

They stepped into her room and Mrs. Jefferson looked at her, "Is it alright if I look around?"

Skye nodded and followed the older lady as she walked around Skye's room. She felt kind of nervous about some stranger looking at all her stuff, but Mrs. Jefferson never touched her things and that made her feel better.

Mrs. Jefferson stopped in front of her dollhouse and Skye looked at all her dolls lying around it. She stooped down and picked up Alice and held the doll to her chest. Mrs. Jefferson smiled at her, "You like dolls?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah."

The older lady pointed at all the dolls lying around, "Would you mind introducing me?"

Skye's eyes lit up and she jumped at the opportunity to introduce her dolls to someone who was interested. She held out Alice, "This is Alice. My sister gave her to me and she's a ballerina. Alice lives in the dollhouse with her family but she sleeps with me at night."

She sat down on the floor and Mrs. Jefferson sat next to her. May stayed by the doorway and watched them.

Skye picked up Perrie, "This is Perrie. She's Alice's best friend and she likes Nattie a lot."

She carefully picked up all of her dolls and introduced them to Mrs. Jefferson. She told her their names and some things about each doll. Mrs. Jefferson seemed genuinely interested in hearing everything she had to say and Skye found herself enjoying their conversation.

She set down her last doll and Mrs. Jefferson smiled at her, "You have a lot of beautiful friends here Skye. Do you like living here?"

Skye jerked her head up to look at the older lady and scrunched up her face at the random question, "Yeah, I love it here."

Mrs. Jefferson tilted her head, "I saw your picture over there on the wall. The one with the house that said you were safe here. _Do_ you feel safe here?"

Skye picked up Alice again and held her close to her chest, "Yes. I love it here and I love my family and I never want to leave."

Mrs. Jefferson was asking weird questions and Skye looked over to May. Her mom didn't seem to be phased by the odd questions so Skye decided to shake it off. When she looked back, Mrs. Jefferson was smiling at her. She stood up and Skye followed her, "Well, I think I've seen everything I needed to see."

They both made their way over to May and Skye reached up. Her mom picked her up and cuddled her close before Mrs. Jefferson's voice caused them to look over, "Here you go. Just fill these out and send them in and you should get a phone call shortly after. If everything's in order, this is the last step in completing the process."

May took the papers that Mrs. Jefferson offered her and folded them over so that Skye couldn't see what they said. Skye didn't really know what they were talking about, but then again, she never really knew what grown-ups were saying anyways.

She set her head on May's shoulder and tuned out their voices until they walked downstairs and said goodbye. May brought her back to the dining room and joined Phil in helping her with her homework. She pushed her visit to the back of her mind so that she could focus on her dumb math homework.

* * *

Things went back to being relatively normal for the rest of the week. Skye would sometimes catch May and Phil talking and they would stop when she got close to them.

On Tuesday she was watching Spongebob and wanted a juice box, so she made her way into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw her whole family in the dining room, sitting around the table and talking to each other. They had all stopped when they spotted her. She couldn't help but feel left out, even when they all smiled at her and talked to her when she joined them.

Her family was acting weird and she didn't know what was going on and it was driving her crazy. She talked about it with Jay but that hadn't really helped. Her therapist had just told her that everything would be alright. Yeah, because _that_ was helpful.

It was Thursday night and Skye couldn't take it anymore. She _knew_ her family was hiding something from her and the longer their strange behavior went on, the more nervous and upset she got. What if they were mad at her? She didn't remember doing anything bad, but maybe it was something she couldn't remember. What if they were getting tired of her? Skye's tummy felt like it had a giant knot in it when she thought about that.

She finally exploded when she walked into May and Phil's bedroom to ask them a question about the t.v. remote. They had been talking and had stopped short when she walked into the room. They both smiled at her but she _knew_ they were hiding something.

She crossed her arms, "What's going on?"

Her parents glanced at each other before smiling at her. May pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, "Nothing's going on sweetie."

Skye wanted to believe her but she knew that May was lying. May _never_ lied. Skye felt tears start to well up in her eyes, "You're lying!" She stomped her foot and couldn't stop her tears from falling, "You're lying to me! I know something's going on! You're keeping a secret from me!"

May and Phil looked at each other again and Skye started talking before they could say anything. This whole week, her nervousness had been building and Skye really needed to know what was going on, "Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? I don't think I did anything bad, but I'm sorry if I did! I didn't mean to!"

She sniffled and angrily ran a hand over her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying but her tears just made her feel more helpless. She didn't like this feeling.

Phil held up his hands, "We aren't mad at you Skye. We're sorry, we just… You're right. We were lying to you."

Skye sucked in a breath. She _knew_ it.

May motioned her forward and Skye cautiously climbed onto the bed, "So… I didn't do anything wrong?"

May breathed out a laugh, "No baby, you've been perfect."

She sat down across from her parents and crossed her legs, "Then what's going on?"

She saw May gave Phil a helpless look before she let out a big breath and her shoulders sagged a little, "We're sorry we've been hiding something from you, but it's not bad, I promise."

Phil was nodding along to what May was saying, "We were going to tell you tomorrow. Wanda and Pietro were going to be on video chat and we were going to make your favorite dinner…"

Skye scrunched up her face. She was confused. She felt relieved that her parents weren't mad at her but she was still confused, "What?"

May took a deep breath, "Skye, we love you so much. You know that. And we wanted to ask you if you'd like to be a part of our family? Officially."

Skye paused and processed what May had said. She was still confused. She stared at May and raised an eyebrow, "I thought… I already was?"

May and Phil both laughed, and while they both sounded nervous, it was genuine. Phil reached forward and pulled her close to them. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "You are sweetheart. You definitely are. What we're saying is that we would like to adopt you."

Skye jerked her head up to stare at him, "You want to adopt me?"

May nodded, "We would like that very much."

Skye felt a slow smile spread across her face. May and Phil wanted to adopt her! They weren't mad at her and nothing was wrong, they had just been acting weird because they were trying to adopt her and wanted to keep it a secret until tomorrow.

A thought suddenly crossed her mind and she sat up straighter, "Will anything be different?"

May glanced at Phil, "Not really, everything would stay exactly the same except we would be your parents on paper too."

Skye felt herself start to smile again and slowly stood up on the bed. She looked down at her parents, "You want to adopt me and be my mommy and daddy forever, for real?"

They both nodded and smiled at her. She couldn't believe it. Well, she _could_ believe it. This family had felt like _hers_ for awhile now. She had gotten so comfortable around them that it hadn't really crossed her mind that they could take it a step further and adopt her. She was happy to just live in the moment. This was one of the best things that had ever happened to her.

She started jumping up and down, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

She could hardly contain her excitement and tackled Phil when he held his arms open for her. She launched herself at him and he fell back and she landed on top of him. He started tickling her sides and she shrieked with laughter. She wriggled around until she could crawl off him and hid on May's lap. Her mom wrapped her arms around her waist and Skye held them against her. She felt May press a kiss to the top of her head and hold Skye close to her, "We're so happy Skye."

Skye's cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much but she didn't even care, "Me too."

She saw Phil sit up and grabbed onto his hand and May rocked them from side to side. They all sat contentedly in silence until she saw Nattie and Trip poke their heads into the room.

Natasha stepped inside, "We heard loud voices and laughter. We're assuming everyone's alright."

Skye nodded excitedly and she heard Phil say, "Skye said yes."

Trip smirked as he made his way over to them, "Of course she did, how could she not? We're awesome."

Natasha nodded and both of them climbed onto the bed and joined them. Nattie reached forward and brushed Skye's bangs out of her eyes, an action so familiar that it was immediately comforting to her, "Welcome to the family маленькаяigh звезда."

Skye's couldn't stop smiling and suddenly she thought of something, "I have a last name now."

She never thought she would have one of those.

May squeezed her arms tighter around Skye's waist, "You sure do."

Skye looked around at her family and couldn't believe how incredibly lucky she was. Never in a million years did she think that she would have her own family, let alone one that she absolutely _loved_ , and here she was surrounded by two loving parents. She never really wanted brothers or sisters, but she had managed to acquire the four most amazing siblings she could have ever asked for. She had imagined that this would happen to her, dreamed of it mostly at nights in the orphanage, but she never thought it would actually happen.

She didn't know what she did to deserve all of this but she wasn't going to question it. Her family was smiling at her and they loved her and they _wanted_ her.

She felt Phil reach over and run a hand over her hair, "Welcome to the family, Skye Coulson."

* * *

What'd you guys think? Skye finally got her family :)

Thank you so much for reading! I'll start posting to the one-shot collection soon so if you have any prompts, send them in! You can do that here or over on my tumblr page! Also, if you have any ideas for other fics, I'm always open to hearing them, so send them my way! :)

Wow, I can't even believe that this fic is over! I hope you guys liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I don't know if I'm completely done with this universe so maybe in the future I'll write a sequel with Skye being a little older, who knows? Thanks guys! xx -Ariel


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